We must fight back against politicians who take bribes for obstructing Obamacare and Greedy Insurance companies that hide ACA benefits

Since:

1. Obamacare will remain complex and ever-changing
2. It involves tax returns
3. Citizens will need a place to report changes and/or discrepancies in income
4. Citizens will need a place to go to resolve disputes with insurance companies

It will be imperative for Obamacare to have a presence on the community. 

I worked for the Social security Administration for 34 years and for the last several years we were tasked with contacting 10's of thousands of citizens to verify income and assets for the Medicare Part D prescription program.  And we had always handled enrollments in Parts A and Part B.  We have over 1300 offices nationwide.  See the blog post before this on for a copy of my submission to the house ways and means committee.  The plan provides a low cost way to roll-out ACA customer service and verification quickly and cheaply.  It would take HHS significant time and money to do it on their own.

 

"New Storefront Takes Health Exchange Message To The Streets" See the Hartford Courant

On October 29, 2013, Access Health CT  www.AccessHealthCT.com opened what is believed to be the nation's first Obamacare retail storefront for walk-in service. 

On October 29, 2013, I submitted a plan to the House Ways and Means committee that asks SSA to partner with HHS and all state Obamacare exchanges to allow ACA navigators and application helpers to use the empty workstations in all 1300 SSA offices nationwide.  In my blog posting below dated October 29, 2013 is my written submission.  The Honorable David Camp is my Congressman. I have also sent copies to Senators Levin and Stabenow.  There are between 5,000 and 15,000 desks and computers available.  This office space available is worth close to $200 million and they are unused due to staffing losses.  There would be little to know costs since SSA has lost 15% of its staff in the last 6 years. 

 Georgia governor gets paid through secret PAC to obstruct Obamacare:    The Raw Story 
Half a million dollars of the money donated to the PAC has come from corporate health care interests which — like the governor and Georgia state Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens — oppose the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as “Obamacare.”  Last week, state insurance commissioner Ralph Hudgens was caught on tape boasting to a crowd of supporters that his office is deliberately obstructing the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. As Floyd County Republicans called out “Amen!” and applauded, Hudgens said that his office is interfering with the certification of the ACA’s insurance policy “navigators,” individuals hired to help consumers choose policies on the open market.  Some might say that these actions along with the lack of Medicaid expansion are like a form of socioeconomic genocide.

Making Obamacare enrollment campaign successful will be a long slog, especially, after all the negative publicity. Across the country, insurance companies have sent misleading letters to consumers, trying to lock them into the companies' own more expensive health insurance plans rather than let them shop for insurance and tax credits on the Obamacare marketplaces. See the Talking Points Memo  Obama/HHS didn't cancel policies, insurance companies did .ACA shined BrightLight on LousyPolicies &they scattered like insects.  BlueCross said at a local public meeting that they cancelled policies that could be grandfathered; probably to avoid law suits for selling crap
Half of those eligible for Medicaid Expansion aren't getting it b/c GOP Governors want to please Koch Bros, insurance companies, etc.

 

We must put pressure on HHS and SSA to put Navigators and application helpers in all 1300 SSA offices.  It could be done within 30 days. This would rebuild confidence in Obamacare.  It will help people believe that it will be just as good as Medicare.   The plan I submitted could overcome actions of greedy insurance companies and PAID Obstructionists like Georgia's Governor and it could help make up for the confusion and frustration citizens are experiencing when trying to use Healthcare.gov

 My plan to have 5,000 to 10,000 Obamacare Application Helpers use the 5,000 to 10,000 empty workstations in the 1300 Social Security Offices nationwide was just forwarded to  http://www.familiesusa.org/ and http://www.enrollamerica.org/  These organizations received grants to develop the roll-out of Obamacare. This would be a win-win for HHS and SSA as SSA is paying for office space they are not using and managers do not want to see dozens of local SSA offices shut down.  Having Navigators in all 1300 SSA offices would make more efficient use of office space and equipment that has already been paid for and it would give HHS one simple location in most communities that is more trusted than any other agency.
We only have this one chance in the history of America to get Obamacare right.  Lives are at stake and we cannot afford to fail

Written Submission for Hearing on the Status of the Affordable Care Act Implementation by House Ways and Means Committee‏

October 29, 2013

Public Submission For The Record by a Private Citizen for

Hearing on the Status of the Affordable Care Act Implementation

The Honorable David Camp

Chairman
Committee on Ways and Means
1102 Longworth House Office Building
Washington D.C. 20515

Fax: 202-225-2610

 

Subject: Low Cost Plan to Greatly Improve Customer Service for Obamacare

 

Dear Congressman David Camp:

 

Feel free to contact me anytime for more details or to answer questions.  Please let me know if you plan any hearings in the future on ACA customer service.  I would like to contribute and/or testify.

I retired from the Social Security Office in West Branch, MI in January of this year.  I worked 17 years as a claims representative and 17 years as a field office manager.   I submitted the plan shown below to Senators Stabenow and Levin.  Please note that I had a telephone conference call to explain this proposal on July 19, 2013 with Claire Green and her staff at the Social Security Advisory Board.  www.ssab.gov 

Local and National Social Security Offices (SSA) have been referring individuals to 1-800-318-2596. I called this number and asked how I could find an ACA Navigator for Ogemaw County MI, where I live. They look some stuff up and they asked me to call thewww.michigan.gov/DFIS 
http://www.michigan.gov/difs/0,5269,7-303-12902_35510-310214--,00.html
at 1-877-999-2596. They told me to call 800-318-2596. I told them that's the number that told me to call DFIS.

Citizens in our four county area have no idea how to contact an ACA Navigator. There is no Navigator for Ogemaw county where I live.  I am also concerned about non-profit non-government staff having access to our personal data and who do we contact when we have a problem with the insurance companies. The office space in the 1300 field offices across the nation are available for free. ACA customer service may be doomed as there are too many middle men. HHS gives grants to the states, the states give grants to statewide organizations who in turn contract with local organizations to be navigators. The result is four layers of bureaucracy and four layers of overhead. There are thousands of different ways this is being handled across the states. There should be at least 1 to 5 navigators stationed in each of the 1300 offices nationwide during the day to help ACA consumers walk through the complex process especially those who are not able to use the 800 numbers or the websites. It would reduce the confusion and the possibility of scams. This is too disjointed and waters down getting the word out and the work done. This would be a win-win for HHS and SSA as SSA is paying for office space they are not using and managers do not want to see dozens of local SSA offices shut down.  Having Navigators in all 1300 SSA offices would make more efficient use of office space and equipment that has already been paid for and it would give HHS one simple location in most communities that is more trusted than any other agency. HHS should hire federal employees or contract employees to work in all SSA offices to be navigators or let navigators from local organizations use this office space.  ACA clients will need ongoing help making decisions about providers and claims problems which may be too much for third level contractors to handle. ACA customers will need to report when their income & assets change during the year.  SSA has lost 10% of staff in last 3 years. Due to attrition, each of these 1300 offices have 3 to 10 empty workstations (desks, phones, and computers) that could be used in the mornings & afternoons. That's between 4,000 & 10,000 free workstations.  Having two shifts of white collar employees in each of the 1300 Social Security offices would allow navigators to use 10 to 30 workstations during the evenings to serve ACA customers. The navigators could also bring their own laptops.  SSA staff could still use those workstations during the day to serve SSA customers. When Medicare first started, SSA offices had to be open at night and on the weekends to get everyone enrolled but SSA got the job done. We must be successful in the roll-out of customer service for the Affordable Care Act. The only reason that the roll-out of Medicare was successful is that there was one place for citizens to go in each community to get help and sign up, their local Social Security office. In addition, ACA will have a larger customer base than Medicare.  Placing navigators and application helpers in SSA offices could be done within 30 days. This would rebuild confidence in Obamacare.  It will help people believe that it will be just as good as Medicare.  This action could help make up for the confusion and frustration citizens are experiencing when trying to use Healthcare.gov POSSIBLE SAVINGS: SSA has office space for 5000 people times annual overhead cost of $24,000 each/year = $120 million per year wasted if not used by ACA navigators.  SSA has office space for over 25,000 available in evenings times $24,000 per  year = another $600 million wasted if not used ACA navigators. Total savings if ACA workers use space already paid for by Social Security Offices = $720million/yr times 10yrs= $7 BILLION. If federal government saves this much it might pay for a single payer plan. The most important event in our generation that shows the need for good federal customer service is the roll-out of Obamacare.  If we get it wrong it could be catastrophic and millions would miss out on the health insurance they need.  This affects too many people and it is too complex of a culture change to limit customer service to the internet and 800# call centers.    Most people would not buy a car or a house via the internet or an 800 number. Many citizens want or need face-to-face customer service.  The Social Security Administration serves millions by the internet and about 56 million by telephone.  However, they still had 45 million visitors that came in for face-to-face service last year.  Due to technical and/or physical limitations, some individuals have no secure access to the internet, some cannot verify their identity via the internet and/or communicate over the telephone.  Some individuals will need a relative or other concerned person appointed to help them make healthcare and health insurance decisions.  This could be patterned after the Representative Payee system used to track payees and guardians for Social Security beneficiaries.

For a plan to add 2nd shift of employees at other agencies see:
http://whitecollargreenspace.blogspot.com/
 

Sincerely,

Timothy A. Albright
989-701-8813 Cell

 Email: timalantoo@hotmail.com

CC: The Honorable Debbie Stabenow

          The Honorable Carl Levin

New way to make it easier for citizens enroll in Obamacare: Low Cost Plan to Greatly Improve Customer Service for Obamacare‏

The following plan could help make up for the confusion and frustration citizens are experiencing when trying to use www.Healthcare.gov 

 

We must put pressure on the Social Security Administration(SSA) to allow Obamacare Application Helpers to use the empty workstations in all 1300 offices nationwide. They total 6,000 to 10,000, altogether they are worth up to $200 million, and they are unused due to staffing losses.  This would be a win-win for HHS and SSA as SSA is paying for office space they are not using and managers do not want to see dozens of local SSA offices shut down.  Having Navigators in all 1300 SSA offices would make more efficient use of office space and equipment that has already been paid for and it would give HHS one simple location in most communities that is more trusted than any other agency. This would greatly simplify national PSA'a - just tell citizens to visit their local SSA office.

We only have this one chance in the history of America to get Obamacare right.  Lives are at stake and we cannot afford to fail.

 

Citizens in our 4 county area have no idea how to contact an ACA Navigator. I am also concerned about non-profit non-government staff having access to our personal data and who do we contact when we have a problem with the insurance companies. The office space in the 1300 field offices is free.
ACA customer service may be doomed as there are too many middle men. HHS gives grants to the states, the states give grants to statewide organizations who in turn contract with local organizations to be navigators. There are thousands of different ways this is being handled across the states. There should be at least 1 to 5 navigators stationed in each of the 1300 offices nationwide to help ACA consumers walk through the complex process especially those who are not able to use the 800 numbers or the websites. It would reduce the confusion and the possibility of scams. This is too disjointed and waters down getting the word out and the work done. Citizens in our 4 county area have no idea how to contact an ACA Navigator. I am also concerned about non-profit non-government staff having access to our personal data and who do we contact when we have a problem with the insurance companies. The office space in the 1300 field offices is free.

CMS should hire federal employees to work in all SSA offices to be navigators  or let navigators from local organizations use this office space.  ACA clients will need ongoing help making decisions about providers and claims problems which may be too much for third level contractors to handle. ACA customers will need to report when their income & assets change during the year.  SSA has lost 10% of staff in last 3 years. Due to attrition, each of these 1300 offices have 3 to 10 empty workstations that could be used in mornings & afternoons. That 's between 4,000 & 10,000 free workstations.  Having two shifts of white collar employees in each of the 1300 Social Security offices would allow us to serve navigators to use 10 to 30 workstations during the evenings to serve ACA customers. The navigators could also bring their own laptops.  SSA staff could still use those workstations during the day to serve SSA customers. When Medicare first started, SSA offices had to be open at night and on the weekends to get everyone enrolled. We must be successful in the roll-out of customer service for the Affordable Care Act. The only reason that the roll-out of Medicare was successful is that there was one place for citizens to go in each community to get help and sign up, their local Social Security office. In addition, ACA will have a larger customer base than Medicare. SAVINGS: SSA has office space for 5000 ppl times annual overhead cost of $24,000 each/year = $120 million/yr wasted if not used by #Obamacare navigators.  SSA has office space for over 25,000 available in evenings times $24,000/yr =another $600 million wasted if not used by #Obamacare navigators. Total savings if #Obamacare workers use space already paid for by Social Security Offices = $720million/yr times 10yrs= $7 BILLION. If federal government saves this much it would pay for a single payer plan.   The most important event in our generation that shows the need for good federal customer service is the roll-out of Obamacare on 10/1/13.  If we get it wrong it could be catastrophic and millions would miss out on the health insurance they need.  This affects too many people and it is too complex of a culture change to limit customer service to the internet and 800# call centers.    I would not buy a car or a house that way. Many citizens want or need face-to-face customer service.  The Social Security Administration serves millions by the internet and about 56 million by telephone.  However, they still had 45 million visitors that came in for face-to-face service.  Some individuals cannot verify their identity via the internet or communicate over the telephone.

No Cost Budget Plan Could Save Federal Government $50 Billion/yr & Avoid Shutdown, Could Stop the Attack on Employee Benefits in Wis & other states

No Cost plan to solve state & federal budget deficit will also Greatly Reduce Pollution, Reduce America's Dependence on Oil, Reduce Offshore Drilling & Reduce overhead costs for gov & business:

The next big thing in government - using tech to save the budget. Wisconsin, other states and Congress could use this simple plan to cut back on cost of office space instead of furloughs and shutdowns and large pay cuts.

We can no longer afford to let all white-collar workers that still have jobs work banker's hours when we can work two shifts per day in government and private industry and cut our overhead costs in half. This simple paradigm shifts solves three problems: It jumpstarts economy and fights poverty, cuts pollution, reduces budget deficits.
Most office space is very expensive yet white collar workers only us it 40 hours per week even though we pay for 168 hours per month (7 days times 24 hours). Office space costs up to $50,000 per year for each employee yet we only use space 30% of time. 30% efficiency is completely unacceptable in today's economic and ecological environment. This could be one answer to the health care mess, global warming which actually should be called over-pollution, unemployment, empty buildings and state budget shortfalls. In Wisconsin this plan could save at least $10,000 per employee times 175,000 state employees. The would add up to almost $2 billion per year. With over 2 million employees, the federal government could save over $20 billon per year with very little up from costs.

Now on Youtube - Health Care Bill Part 2: A Plan to Help the 25 Million Left Behind

"Dying Uninsured in America"



http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-424468

How do we explain to our children that we tried for 100 years to get universal health care and the bill signed by President Obama on 3/23/10 still leaves 15 to 25 million without health insurance. In America money rules. We have stooped so low that we can spend billion$ to keep financial and manufacturing corporations and foreign countries alive but we cannot do the same or our friends neighbors and relatives. Corporations can't feels pain, they don't leave loved ones, they don't serve in the military, they can't show compassion and they usually avoid taxes and can write off their bad debts.

Here is a proposal that will save the Federal government close to $50 billion per year enough to pay for the public option with only an executive order. Most office space is very expensive yet white collar workers only use it 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. This amounts to only 30% efficiency which is completely unacceptable in today's economic and ecological environmentWe can no longer afford to let all white-collar workers that still have jobs work banker's hours when we can work two shifts per day in government and private industry and cut our overhead costs in half. This simple paradigm shifts solves three problems: It jumpstarts economy and fights poverty, cuts pollution, reduces budget deficits.

Plan presented to Congress and White House that pays for public option w/o new taxes or fees

http://www.youtube.com/user/greenspaceguy
A simple plan that allows the government to pay for a public option for healthcare without new taxes or fees. It also cuts the governments carbon footprint by 50%.

The Federal government pays for almost one billion square feet of office space. Most office space is very expensive yet it sits unused 70% of the time because most white collar work is scheduled for only one shift per day or only 45 hours out of a 168 hour week. 30% efficiency is completely unacceptable in today's economic and ecological environment. Most buildings are open for 12 hours each day from 6 am to 6 pm. By keeping buildings open an additional 4 or 5 hours each day, we could schedule 2 shifts of white collar workers, thus increasing our efficiency by 100% and reducing our carbon footprint by 50%. We could cut the cost of overhead for each employee by 40 to 50%, half as much infrastructure, half as much office space, half as many computers and supplies. With the overhead for each of our 2 million Federal workers approaching $50,000 per year, the potential savings could be $50 billion per year, enough to pay for health care reform.
If adopted by government and private industry this simple plan will help in the following ways:

•Save federal gov a trillion dollars in next 10 years
•Exactly amount needed for universal healthcare
•Reduce white-collar overhead costs by 50%
•Reduce carbon footprint of office space by 50%
•Reduce budget deficits for most state governments
•Reduce our dependence on foreign oil
•Make American workers competitive in the global economy
•Improve profits for all businesses and
•Increase tax receipts for state/fed governments
•Businesses can hire more employees & lower product prices

Would the Senators have voted down the public option if they knew that Our government already has money To pay for UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE

This simple plan will help our government and private industry to:
• Save the federal government a trillion dollars in the next 10 years
o Exactly what is needed for universal healthcare coverage
• Reduce the cost of overhead for our white collar workers by 50%
• Reduce the carbon footprint of our office space by 50%
• Reduce the budget deficits for most state governments
• Reduce our dependence on foreign oil
• Make our workers more competitive in the global economy
• Improve profits for all businesses and
o Increase tax receipts for state and federal governments
o Allow businesses to hire more employees and lower prices
The 50 million individuals with no health insurance are not just Americans; they are our relatives, neighbors, and friends. Just as the majority of us have no idea what it is like to live with a deadly disease or injury, we also cannot imagine what our lives would be like if we had to face such suffering and pain with no health insurance. We must stop using our mouths to fight and argue over which souls will be covered; we must put our hearts and minds together and find the funds to pay for their care. That would be the American way.
The Federal government leases or owns close to ½ billion and 1 billion square feet of office space. Most white collar workers work an eight hour shift each day even though most buildings are open for 12 hours from 6 am to 6 pm. The office space that the government is paying for is normally used by White collar workers for about 9 hours a day during the week for a total of 45 hours a week. The office space is available 168 hours per week or 24/7. The space is under-utilized about 123 (168-45) hours per week. Under current practices, the federal government has additional free space available of about 270% more than we are currently using. (123/45=2.7). Overall these expensive facilities sit unused 60 to 70% of the time during the week. Managing billions of dollars worth of infrastructure at only 30% efficiency is unacceptable. We would not install a furnace that is only 30% efficient. By keeping buildings open an additional 4 or 5 hours each day, we could schedule 2 shifts of white collar workers, thus increasing our efficiency by 100% and reducing our carbon footprint by 50%. We could cut the cost of overhead for each employee by 40 to 50%, half as much infrastructure, half as much office space, half as many computers and supplies. With the overhead for each of our 2 million Federal workers approaching $50,000 per year, the potential savings could be $25 to $50 billion per year. By extending this new paradigm to independent contractors and state offices where the Federal government pays the state a percentage of the cost, the savings could be between $50 and $100 billion per year. This could be used as the seed money to help pay the cost of covering the currently uninsured.
In the last century, Henry Ford applied the advantages of mass production and interchangeable parts to build a car that every family could afford. We can learn from the past. In this new century we are still in the information age and we must apply what we learned from the industrial revolution to create a health care system that every family can afford. In the 1960’s I work a blue collar job and we represented 90% of the workforce. The white collar workers at the factory worked 9-5 and their work space sat empty the rest of the time. However, today the situation is reversed and white collar workers represent 80 to 90% of the work force. We cannot afford to let their space sit unused 70% of the time. We must abandon the old 9-5 paradigm for white collar workers as they ARE the new assembly lines. We must manage all resources efficiently. We must stop all wasteful practices. The challenge to make this simple paradigm shift comes not from the fact that we are Americans, or that we are Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative: it comes from the fact that we are all part of a Civilized Society.
Mr. President, in a recent radio address you stated that the only way for us to dig our way out of the rut we are in is through innovation. I wish for you and Congress to consider this policy change. We all know that bureaucracy moves slowly, but I believe that our government employees and management are responsive and dynamic enough to implement the paradigm change quickly. I believe that when this policy change is adopted by the federal government and the sates, it could have the greatest impact on our society, the economy, and the environment of any other event of Obama's first term. If adopted by private industry, it would be like finding vast new reserves of oil and metals in the USA, enough to construct as many buildings as we have in the last 150 years. Almost all buildings can be retro-fitted for the white collar work of the 21st century. It would also stop the giant sucking sound and make American workers competitive again in the global economy. Outsourcing and the movement of our jobs overseas could be reversed.
I suggest that we phase in a program to utilize the under-used space we already paid for by beginning second and third shifts in many of our offices. We no longer have thousands of paper forms, documents, and files to store in each office since they are electronic. The second and third shifts could on answer the 800 number phone calls, work on electronic claims files, disability claims, and applications and post-adjudicative work received from our internet portals. The time is now for this sea change in this white collar paradigm:Because of tight budgets, we can no longer afford the luxury of providing white collar workers with work space that is utilized only a third of the time. We could not afford to have all government owned vehicles to run on idle 24 hours a day even when not in use.With the prospect of ongoing high unemployment, workers will be willing to adjust to shift work. It is better than not working at all. Many medical offices already use this concept as they may be occupied by a different specialist each day of the week. With the prospect of universal health coverage on the horizon, we could almost instantly provide the office space, infrastructure, customer service counters, and computer networks that will be needed to administer such a program. We already have the technology to make a fairly seamless transmission. Even on a limited basis, the federal government could save the capital expense of more office space by using some of the $418 billion dollars in under-utilized space we have already paid for. The savings could be the billions of dollars.

We would be better utilizing safety, security, furniture, and systems investments and thus, greatly reducing the federal government's carbon footprint. We could help create jobs for a new industry for retro-fitting billions of square feet of empty buildings to three-shift office space. Why waste our money on thousands of new buildings and destroy even more land when we already have the space. Globally, we would be setting an example for hundreds of other government and non-government organizations and millions of private businesses. Were they to follow suit the savings could be in the trillions of dollars. By facilitating this simple yet bold paradigm shift we could create jobs, speed up the availability of universal health coverage, and help save the environment.

A Citizen's Response to President Obama's Health Care Speech

http://www.youtube.com/user/greenspaceguy

My fellow Americans,
Distinguished guests,
Honorable Representatives,
Mr. President,

Thank you for your hard work and dedication.
The 50 million individuals with no health insurance are not just Americans; they are our relatives, neighbors, and friends. Just as the majority of us have no idea what it is like to live with a deadly disease or injury, we also cannot imagine what our lives would be like if we had to face such suffering and pain with no health insurance. We must stop using our mouths to fight and argue over which souls will be covered; we must put our hearts and minds together and find the funds to pay for their care. That would be the American way.

Mr. President,
In a recent radio address you stated that the only way for us to dig our way out of the rut we are in is through innovation. I wish for you and Congress to consider the following policy change. Anyone that has questions or comments or thinks that this will not work, can leave me a comment at www.whitecollargreenspace.blogspot or send me an email at whitecollargreenspaceguy@hotmail.com
We all know that bureaucracy moves slowly, but I believe that our government employees and management are responsive and dynamic enough to implement the paradigm change quickly.

The Federal government leases or owns close to ½ billion square feet of office space. Most white collar workers work an eight hour shift each day even though most buildings are open for 12 hours from 6 am to 6 pm. Overall these expensive facilities sit unused 60 to 70% of the time. By keeping buildings open an additional 4 or 5 hours each day, we could schedule 2 shifts of white collar workers, thus increasing our efficiency by 100% and reducing our carbon footprint by 50%. We could cut the cost of overhead for each employee by 40 to 50%, half as much infrastructure, half as much office space, half as many computers and supplies. With the overhead for each of our 2 million Federal workers approaching $50,000 per year, the potential savings could be $25 to $50 billion per year. By extending this new paradigm to independent contractors and state offices where the Federal government pays the state a percentage of the cost, the savings could be between $50 and $100 billon per year. This could be used as the seed money to help pay the cost of covering the currently uninsured.

This is Do-able because most office work is now electronic or web-based. Our agencies are customer oriented and we try to offer services as close to 24/7 as possible through our excellent internet sites and 800 number services. Immediate budget savings would come by cancelling some leases and postponing new construction projects until a full utilization analysis is done.

In the last century, Henry Ford and others applied the advantages of mass production and interchangeable parts to build a car that every family could afford. We can learn from the past. In this new century we are still in the information age and we must apply what we learned from the industrial revolution to create a health care system that every family can afford. We must abandon the old 9-5 paradigm for white collar workers as they ARE the new assembly lines. We must manage all resources efficiently. We must stop all wasteful practices. The challenge to make this simple paradigm shift comes not from the fact that we are Americans, or that we are Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative: it comes from the fact that we are all part of a Civilized Society.

I stand ready and willing to answer any questions, to discuss any concerns, or to help in any way I can. As Americans, we must never cease to persevere.
We CAN Do It.
Labor Day is near and recently I talked to former GM blue collar employee who retired after 32 years with the company. He has no health insurance. He was not in the union.

I am Tim Albright from West Branch, MI. I represent no specific group, organization or corporation. Thank you for listening.
Stay tuned for another episode real soon.

Using shift work for white collar jobs to greatly reduce the fiscal and environmental cost of new office space

This policy change could help cover the uninsured and also cut the governments carbon footprint by 20% to 50%.

I believe that when this policy change is adopted by the federal government and the sates, it could have the greatest impact on our society, the economy, and the environment of any other event of Obama's first term. We are looking for a national spokesperson. If adopted by private industry, it would be like finding vast new reserves of oil and metals in the USA, enough to construct as many buildings as we have in the last 150 years. Almost all buildngs can be retro-fitted for the white collar work of the 21st century. It would also stop the giant sucking sound and make American workers competetive again in the global economy. Outsourcing and the movement of our jobs overseas could be reversed.

The General Services Administration (GSA) owns and leases over 354 million square feet of space in 8,600 buildings in more than 2,200 communities nationwide. 354 x $40/sq ft = $14.1 billion x 10 years = $141 billion.
The office space that GSA is paying for is normally used by White collar workers for about 9 hours a day during the week for a total of 45 hours a week or 2340 hours per year. The office space is available 168 hours per week or 24/7. The space is under-utilized about 123 (168-45) hours per week or 6396 hours per year. Under current practices, the federal government (GSA) has additional free space available of about 270% more than we are currently using. (6396/2340=2.73). This additional space could be worth $381 billion. ($141 billion x 2.7= $381 billion) GSA is planning to build numerous new office buildings in the coming years.
GSA lived throught the end of the Industrial Revolution and at the beginning of 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 parts." Sure our software and hardware take advantage of this concept, but what about our brick and mortar, our great investment in land, buildings, and interior space. In order to achieve mass production and manufacture a profitable product, Henry Ford and others made capital investments in factories with assembly lines. The industrial revolution would not have been successful if they only used these expensive investments 8 hours a day for five days a week. They greatly reduced their ongoing overhead by operating three shifts a day and some shifts on weekends. Almost all office space now is used by workers only about 9 hours a day five days a week. Most of the processing and storage of documents needed by our agency's technicians exist in an electronic environment. Within the next five to ten years more than 50% of the work done by federal agencies will be in an electronic environment including work from phone calls and internet sites. Most agencies have nationwide integrated telecommunications networks which have the ability to route calls on demand to a multitude of different offices nationwide. These services are already available outside normal business hours and could be expanded to 24/7.

I suggest that we phase in a program to utilize the under-used space we already paid for by beginning second and third shifts in many of our offices. We no longer have thousands of paper forms, documents, and files to store in each office since they are electronic. The second and third shifts could on answer the 800 number phone calls, work on electronic claims files, disability claims, and applications and post-adjudicative work received from our internet portals. The time is now for this sea change in this white collar paradigm:Because of tight budgets, we can no longer afford the luxury of providing white collar workers with work space that is utilized only a third of the time. We could not afford to have all government owned vehicles to run on idle 24 hours a day even when not in use.With the prospect of ongoing high unemployment, workers will be willing to adjust to shift work. It is better than not working at all. Many medical offices already use this concept as they may be occupied by a different specialist each day of the week.With the prospect of universal health coverage on the horizon, we could almost instantly provide the office space, infrastructure, customer service counters, and computer networks that will be needed to administer such a program. We already have the technology to make a fairly seamless transmission.
Even on a limited basis, the federal government could save the capital expense of more office space by using some of the $418 billion dollars in under-utilized space we have already paid for. The savings could be the billions of dollars.

We would be better utilizing safety, security, furniture, and systems investments and thus, greatly reducing our the federal government's carbon footprint

We could help create jobs for a new industry for retro-fitting billions of square feet of empty buildings to three-shift office space. Why waste our money on thousands of new buildings and destroy even more land when we already have the space.
Globally, we would be setting an example for hundreds of other government and non-government organizations and millions of private businesses. Were they to follow suit the savings could be in the trillions of dollars. By facilitating this simple yet bold paradigm shift we could create jobs, speed up the availability of universal health coverage, and help save the environment.

Stay tuned for an earth-shaking paradigm shift that could save jobs, universal health care, and the environment

The Information Age finally talks to its older brother,the Industrial Revolution.
Interchangeable parts in a virtual world.