This is actually a huge problem in California and absolutely not a joke. It’s a life or death situation centered on an ancient programming language. Here’s a thread on why California too is probably facing huge threats from this. https://twitter.com/manicode/status/1246497036389793792

My info on this is years out of date, because I haven’t dug into the specifics of this since I worked for the State of California. But when I did, I first learned about COBOL as a part of a project I worked on that related to improving unemployment insurance service delivery.

According to Wikipedia, COBOL first appeared in 1959. It was an actractive way for bureaucracies to track data, especially services cases, and so most of the State of California eventually adopted it, including the Employment Development Department, which administers UI.

Bear with me for a sidetrack: States, and many governments, have a unique for of budgeting called “baseline budgeting.” Under BB, a department gets the same amount of money each year as a “baseline” and then, at least in California, “budget change proposals” shift the baseline.

Baseline budgeting works well for large departments operating in a relatively static environment. It helps ensure that the executive branch is spending money responsibly, promoting the best interests of the people, and following a consistent rule of law. But tech is not static.

Basline budgets provide enough to maintain systems, in theory, but the older these systems get, the higher there costs go up. Tax payers are remiss to pay more for the same service, though, so people have to get creative.

Baseline budgeting operates on each budget cycle under the assumption of not fixing stuff that’s not broken. Some proactive government try to prepare systems for huge moments of bandwidth taxation, like now, but some don’t.

I’d bet that few departments or states totally renovate their tech architecture on a regular basis - COBOL, which was one of the first languages states picked up, is still used by many departments in California today, because of responsible, cost conscious baseline budgeting.

COBOL engineers now only work on departmental internal products, and I’d bet most are retired or retiring. It’s an ancient language that’s next to impossible to learn at a school. The private sector is dozens of generations past it.

But massive bureaucracies still need COBOL programmers, especially those that administer life or death aid, like UI, medical assistance, food assistance, etc. These systems simply must work in times of crisis when demand for them, and, with them, COBOL programs, surge.

I get frustrated that more people aren’t willing to pay higher taxes in times of plenty so that when we need these systems in times like these, they’re 100 percent reliable. I want to pay more for this.

The problem is not dumb, lazy bureaucrats or whatever - it’s exactly the opposite. It’s responsible executives and legislators following responsibly the incentives and rules, through cost conscious baseline budgeting, that we the public give them.

So now, tons of people are at risk of death unless an army of nonexistent COBOL engineers appears to service these systems around the country. Anyone who can program COBOL should absolutely get in touch with their government to help. This is a real, life threatening cris.

It’s also one we the public should pay to not be vulnerable to.