Save Award 2010 Ideas

Stop mailing Social Security statements annually and instead mail them every three years. As part of their tax returns, most people retain the info they need to verify the info in the statement, so they would not be inconvenienced by less frequent mailing of the statements.

I am currently a legal assistant scheduler in the West Los Angeles ODAR office. Scheduling is a very detailed, fairly laborious process which seems to me could be done completely by computer. Instead of schedulers engaging in a juggling act of contacting representatives, medical experts, vocational experts, interpreters and hearing monitors, the process might be much faster and efficient of done completely by computer.... more »

I suggest you...save several billion of dollars per year by Using Existing Social Security Offices to Administer New Health Care Plan:
In order to administer the new health care plan established by Congress, the government will have to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to set up a service network. It can take GSA 2 to 3 years to build out new office space. I suggest that we use the 1200 or so field offices already... more »

Stop issuing paper SS Cards

Stop issuing paper SS Cards

Begin an E-Enrollment type plan to move Social Security and Supplemental Security Income payments to a "direct deposit" set-up rather than mailing checks. Reducing the number of checks that are sent out will save millions of dollars, and having people enroll their accounts into the program for direct deposits of these benefits will help to keep track of the money. Start by implementing a mandatory program for all people... more »

I suggest we get rid of the child in care benefits. If the child is already receiving benefits why pay the mother as well.

Discontinue the singles penalty in social security benefits. Government benefits should not be based on marital status.

Provide attorneys the ability to upload electronic copies of medical records and to view the current exhibit list online using a user ID and password, rather than requiring the Case Technician to burn and distribute CD copies of the exhibits, which become outdated and risk exposure of personally identifiable information by being on a CD rather than a secure network. An example of this kind of format would be the way... more »

When people complete their IRS(annual)and/or W-4 forms they should be given an option to have their Annual Social Security Benefits brochure delivered via email. I think anyone who files their taxes electronically should have that mandatory. Think of the paper, toner and labor cost saved.

Dollar down rounding of Social Security benefits. Eliminate the change and save millions annually. Do the same with Medicare costs, only round up. Have this go into affect at the next cost of living increase so no one will feel the small difference.

If a person is on welfare for more than 1 month they should be put to work by the counties, if a building needs to be painted or a park needs to be cleaned or even cleaning government buildings you can do that at night for those with kids or working spouses, no more free rides. WFW work for welfare. it would save millions and stop people living off the system.

increase the Social Security Tax Rate. It has been 7.65/15.30SE for the past 20+ years. All taxes have increased. Any financial advisor tells you to invest at least 10%. I think the base tax should increase and then for those earning over $150,000. the rate should increase on an increment basis - based on your salary. If your going to get a higher rate of return from SS then you should have to pay in more to SS.... more »

This idea would also help us avoid future oil spills by becoming less dependent on foreign oil .At the end of the Industrial Revolution our government entered the White Collar Era. We have grown up during the Information Age which morphed into the Digital Age that we are in right now. We seemed to have forgotten the basic concept that made the Industrial Revolution one of the most important events in human history. "Interchangeable... more »

In order to cut huge overhead generated each year, reduce the amount politcal servants receive after completion of their term(s) of service (down to 10% of active wages) which will dissuade greedy people from running the United States. Also roll all political parties into the new health care system for all (it should be good enough for politicians or it should not have been passed!) Finally, a continuation of the first... more »