Written by Rev. Robert Plaisted
guest columnist
Abraham Lincoln proclaimed “a government of the people, by the people, and for the people,” and said, “A people's government shall never perish from the face of the earth.” He called our government “Earth's last and best hope.” Decades later, Benito Mussolini declared that “fascism is a fusion of state power and corporate power, so it is more accurate to call it corporatism.'' Still later, Ronald Reagan declared: “Government is not the solution to our problems. Government is the problem.” His three different visions of government — by the people, by the corporate fascist state, or by just a nuisance problem. Our declaration is not moving in a positive direction.
Here is a declaration of what good government should be. When Sue and I started considering moving into an assisted living facility, we thought that our retirement and long-term care insurance benefits would cover the significant costs of that type of care. We did not expect problems with commercial insurance companies. Hehehe! A big chance.
“The company” immediately started dragging its feet on the benefit payments we had invested in since 2001. They sent us computer-generated statements every month showing how much we paid for long-term care (a lot). The amount we received from insurance coverage (nothing). It wasn't until the 5th month that I started seeing real results. Sue finally started receiving something, but it was after she underwent major surgery on her back and subsequent physical therapy.
Thank God that Maine is a state whose government is serious about curbing corporate wrongdoing through regulation. If you live in a “conservative” state with a Republican majority and corporate ownership, you're out of luck. We knew we had to fight temple money changers and believed the Maine government was an ally, not a “problem.”
We fought the corporate blue lawsuit every month through all levels of appeal, including letters and phone calls, but were ignored. Finally, we appealed to the Maine Department of Insurance. Well, I know! Those awful “government bureaucrats” responded to our letters and phone calls. Within weeks, my persistent appeal was submitted to an independent arbitration panel. A week after the arbitrator ruled in my favor, we received a letter from the “company” explaining that they were “re-evaluating” my coverage.
However, another two weeks passed, during which time I received another rejection letter. So we called out once again to the “good government” people of Augusta. Just a week later he suddenly had a large deposit deposited into our checking account. That amounted to 5 months of unpaid benefits that I was denied. A few days later I received his detailed three page statement. I didn't see the $0.00 line. You don't have to accept corporate BS. You can fight against today's money changers and win. But we need to be served by a good government “for the people.”
Late in life, Arturo Toscanini was asked if he liked a certain type of music. He replied: “In music he has two types: good music and bad music. I prefer good music.'' In government he has two types. Good government and bad government. I much prefer good government and thank God for that. It does what government is supposed to do: serve people, not businesses.
The Rev. Robert Plaisted is a former United Methodist minister who previously lived in Bridgeton and Bath, but now lives in Auburn.
