By Rev. Robert Plaisted

Guest Columnist

Abraham Lincoln proclaimed, “government of the people, by the people, for the people,” and said it “shall not perish from the earth.” He called our government “the last, best hope of earth.” Decades later, Benito Mussolini proclaimed, “Fascism should more properly be called corporatism, because it is the merger of state and corporate power.” Still later, Ronald Reagan proclaimed that, “government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” Three different visions of government — by the people, by the corporate fascist state, or just an annoying problem. Our proclamations haven’t moved in a positive direction.

Here’s a proclamation of what good government should look like. When Sue and I began considering our move to an assisted living facility, we thought our retirement income, plus benefits from our long-term care insurance would enable us to cover the significant cost of that kind of care. We didn’t anticipate any problem with our corporate insurance company. Pffft! Fat chance.

“The Company” immediately began dragging its feet about paying the benefits that we’d invested in, ever since 2001. They sent monthly computer-generated statements, showing the amount we’d paid for long-term care (plenty), and the amount we’d received from our insurance coverage (nothing). Not until the fifth month did actual benefits appear. Sue finally began receiving something, but only after she had undergone major back surgery and the physical therapy which followed.

I thank God that Maine is a state where government makes a serious attempt to rein in corporate abuses through regulation. If we lived in a Republican-dominated, corporate-owned “conservative” state, we’d have been out of luck. We realized that we would have to battle the moneychangers in the corporate temple, and we believed Maine state government would be an ally, not a “problem.”

We fought the corporate blue suits through every level of appeal — letters and phone calls, month after month — but they were ignored. Finally, we appealed to the Maine Bureau of Insurance. Well, whaddya know! Those awful “government bureaucrats” responded to our letters and calls. Within weeks, my languishing appeal went before an independent arbitration board. A week after the arbitrators decided in my favor, we received a letter from “The Company,” explaining that they were “reassessing” my coverage, or so they claimed.

But, two more weeks passed, during which I received another denial letter. So, we made one more call to the “good government” folks in Augusta. Exactly a week later, a large deposit suddenly appeared in our checking account. It equaled the unpaid five months of benefits that I had been denied. Days after, I received a detailed three-page statement; there wasn’t a $0.00 line to be seen. We don’t have to accept corporate B.S. We can fight today’s moneychangers, and win. But, we need to be served by good government, “for the people.”

Late in life, Arturo Toscanini was asked if he preferred any particular type of music. He answered, “There are two types of music — good music and bad music. I much prefer good music.” There are two types of government — good government and bad government. I much prefer good government, and I thank God for it. It does what government should do — serve people, not corporations.

Rev. Robert Plaisted is a retired United Methodist clergyman, formerly of Bridgton and Bath, now residing in Auburn.