We are all weary of the political shouting, veiled innuendos and so much pointing, smiling and waving that it’s almost a relief to watch a commercial on television. I’m not sure we can make it to November. No one person can carry out all the promises being made and we keep wondering who is lurking in the background, waiting to “help” the new administration. Wait and see is the real name of the game.

Meanwhile, here in Maine, we read about and hear about the tough situation in Augusta. The governor wants some ideas on how to save money. Please give me three or four sheets of lined paper. Layers and layers of red tape or bureaucracy or whatever it’s called, have buried government. When I was working “full time,” I called it busy work, i.e., if you look busy, you are busy.

Here’s one example. An acquaintance of mine receives the benefit of Medicaid. In order to obtain the benefit, one must have a primary care physician who refers to others for services he or she cannot perform.

So far, so good. The plan is administered by what used to be called Department of Human Services, but now has changed to another name. That office mails requests for updates to the clients and so far in the last year and a half, quarterly update requests have been received along with three requests for proof of identity. That is, a certified copy of a birth certificate or other acceptable identification. I am beginning to wonder what happens to these duplicate copies. I cannot imagine the mountain of paperwork, filing, postage, and human labor involved in managing this information.

I’m wondering, too, if state legislators and the many commission heads receive state paid health/dental insurance which, if they are employed and/or retired, they probably already have. Maybe someone knows the answer to this.

How many webmasters are employed by the state? There are dozens of Maine state Web sites with an enormous amount of information, and someone has to keep this information posted and (in some cases) up to date. Or does the state have one master webmaster?

Do inmates of our various state prisons or places of incarceration get medical and dental benefits as a routine part of their incarceration or only in an emergency? A newspaper article I read a few years back reported on this and the total amount spent on this benefit to criminals was unbelievable. In fact, disgusting to me, because at the time I was struggling to save money for cataract surgery, a procedure not fully paid by Medicare. If inmates are still receiving full health benefits, perhaps this is an area to be reviewed for possible savings. What’s the current rate of repeat offenders and do they really need to get healthy (at our expense) in order to reoffend?

It’s no big revelation to me that jobs paid for by taxes are always better paid than those in the private sector, but there is a limit as to what we who pay the bills can afford.

See you next week.