Maine: A corporate state?
The divide in America is not between political parties and their ideologies, between religious beliefs, between rich and poor, or between value systems. It is between the corporate state and the citizen.
Gov. Paul LePage knows what he wants: a corporate state. LePage and his supporters clearly march to the following orders: establish optimal conditions for private firms to enter Maine so that they may profit without interference. The marching orders follow a simple set of principles:
• Eliminate outside influence on compensation and benefits;
• Consolidate control of operating expenses;
• Remove controls (regulations) impacting freedom of action; and
• Establish barriers that prevent challenges to the corporate state’s control.
Removal of collective bargaining rights for child care providers was a symbolic message to corporate entities of the following: “Maine is open for business, no wage or benefit concerns here.”
The attempt to repeal the Maine ban of BPA, the harmful chemical found in plastic bottles, was another symbolic message to corporate entities that “Maine is open for business, so put what you want into your products.”
State revenue comes from state income, sales and real estate taxes. Reducing the state income tax more than likely places additional burden on sales and real estate taxes; that is Paul LePage’s intent.
Is elimination of the middle-class and working-class social Darwinism or social genocide? What LePage cares about is being CEO of a corporate state, and he is well on his way.
Thomas Czyz
Falmouth
Clean up the mess
No one in the upcoming race for the U.S. Senate seat is better qualified to fill it than our current Secretary of the Treasury, Bruce Poliquin. A successful businessman, he has been an extraordinary treasury secretary, saving Maine citizens millions in reclaimed dollars, whether from the rescue and restructuring of public sector pensions, the removal of an unnecessary middleman from our bond-selling process, or uncovering abuses at Maine State Housing, resulting in money going to the poor rather than to Las Vegas trips or other luxuries for bureaucrats.
In contrast, Angus King’s expertise left the state with financial problems we are still cleaning up and his business acumen is best adapted to schemes using taxpayer dollars for unnecessary loans. Our major newspapers have shown little or no interest in following the SEC investigation of the $102,000,000 in taxpayer dollars his wind power company received or Mr. King’s abrupt resignation, once apprised of that investigation.
This election is about sending people to Washington to clean up the mess. Let’s not send anyone who has been busy creating it.
Patricia Egan
Rockport
Contribute to food pantry
This year, when we make our visit to the cemetery to honor our deceased loved ones, would it not be a more loving tribute to donate to our local food pantry the amount usually spent on plastic flowers?
We could still go to the cemetery, trim around the headstone, offer our prayers for our loved ones and share with them the donation we made in their honor. Remembering how they lived, I believe my deceased parents would like this charitable bouquet.
Marim Rooney
Hermon
Premium jump
I received notice this week from Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield that my individual health insurance premium is about to increase from $563 to $663 per month, an increase of $1,200 for the coming year. I am a healthy, self-employed 62 year-old, with a $5,000 deductible policy. My premiums have gone up every year, but the 17 percent jump is unprecedented and disheartening.
The increase results from last year’s action by the Legislature and the governor allowing higher rates to be charged to rural Mainers along with 10 percent annual increases without Insurance Commission review.
It is true that I can choose not to pay $8,000 to Anthem this year, but the choices for individual policyholders are poor. There is Mega Life, which has been rated D+ by the Better Business Bureau for a history of not paying claims, and Dirigo Health, which the Legislature may soon extinguish altogether. The Affordable Care Act directs creation of insurance exchanges which might increase competition in the Maine market, but the Legislature has chosen not to begin that process. The other lousy options are to move to a state with more concern for consumers, or live third-world style and go without health insurance.
In my view, the Legislature’s action amounts to a new form of tax, a kind we will see again in various forms. Diminishing insurance regulation and increasing rates means thousands of us are compelled to pay more so Anthem’s formerly modest profits in the individual market can be “healthier.”
Stephen McKay
Orono
Patricia Egan–I am no Angus king fan but Bruce Polquin? Really? Between his questionable ethical practices with his “tree farm” and his “club”, his record of blind partisanship and his marriages to MHPC and ALEC…….I would vote for Mickey Mouse before I would vote for Polquin.
Polquin for Capo, maybe but never for Senator.
Mr. McKay, you are certainly between a rock and a hard place. MEGA is fake insurance, don’t buy it. Dirigo is no cheaper than Anthem. I would either bite the bullet until Medicare kicks in, or up the amount of your deductible to get a cheaper premium with Anthem.
Bruce Poliquin is a man of integrity who has undergone an unfair scrutiny in the media. He should remain in Maine to continue the fine efforts he has shown in less than two years serving as our Secretary of the Treasury.
If you are healthy, Mr. McKay, then take on the highest deductible and get an HSA.
Oh that is to bad he has been questioned about things he shouldn’t have been doing. Please don’t send my apologies to him.
I’m glad to see your compassion for Mr. McKay, if you can’t afford it or your not healthy then to bad. Sarcasm intended!!!!
“unfair scrutiny” ????????????? what’s unfair about questioning the state treasurer about dubious wheeling and dealing above and under the table?
Oh, yes, Thomas, you got that exactly right.
In my mind anyone serving in the LePage administration is the most disqualified to represent the people of Maine.
Oh, Stephen, you did not look at the ALEC model bill that insurers wanted passed. If you had you would have seen this coming.
Stephen McKay–Have you got that great Paul LePage feeling yet? He really doesn’t seem to care about regular individuals and their struggles, only the corporations and the rich who can fill his re-election bank account. I doubt we will ever know but with him and his Republicans letting this go through I smell a rat.
Thomas Czyz–You pretty much described Gov. LePage and the Republican party, good letter.
Patricia Egan– I am like kcjonez no fan of Angus King, but I really feel Bruce Polquin should be left in Maine to tend to his tree farm and beach club. I would like to see him resign from his current post, as stealing from those retirees is not real popular especially with those retirees. He will do nothing but follow whatever the Republicans tell him to do, like don’t vote on anything that makes sense, especially if Obama is in the White House.
Patricia just what abuses did Poliquin uncover at Maine State Housing? I believe the recently concluded investigation said that they uncovered no wrong doings. In fact what Poliquin did as far as Maine State Housing is concerned is considered by some as a witch hunt.
Mr. McKay you are not alone unfortunately. My company provides group health insurance for our 18 employees and we saw a similar increase. Come November just remember the tea party republicans that crammed through “insurance reform”
We have an older group and for the first time in a decade we are looking at holding costs down and getting slightly better coverage. We have to be creative but are looking for multiple options. The kicker is because of my medical issues it will cost me more personally but we can save money in other healthy younger parts of the group. I haven’t finished the work up yet but it looks promising.
Our work force runs from 65 on down to mid twenties. We could have lowered our cost but it would have meant reducing benefits or increasing deductibles or a combination of both. We chose to stay with what we had in force. In my company we look at things like health insurance as a way to keep good employees which we have found out works out a lot less expensive in the long run. With the exception of the one we hired last fall to replace the fellow who is now 65 and will be retiring our people have all been with us for an extended period of time.
I will say that the current poor insurance we have now is the direct result of decades of government interference in the healthcare market. We have been paying attention to Augusta’s involvement since the early 90’s. My sense is that your insurance agent is not doing well by you and you need to find another agent. Some of these guys get complacent.
I will say that the current poor insurance we have now is the direct result of decades of unregulated, unfettered profit taking by the principals in the healthcare market. As a country, we compare unfavorably to all the other industrialized countries who have adopted more socialized health care provision structures.
Sarcasm Alert
Nah, capitalism isn’t to blame. Socialism did it. It’s that Nanny government we have: interferring with good old fashioned entrapreneurs like hospitals, pharmaceutical corporations and doctors that’s driving up the costs. That , or welfare cheats using medical services they aren’t entitled to.
I watched it happen. I have decades of premium invoices in a file and it wouldn’t be too hard to link that data to Augusta.
In 1993 Maine adopted the community rating system and my small group insurance rates went up between 15% to 22% annually over the next few years. In that time period Maine went from many insurers to just 3 or 4 operating in Maine. In 1993 Maine was in the center of the pack in terms of insurance costs. By the year 2000 Maine companies were paying the highest rates in the country except for one or two states. (Also community ratings states).
by the way insurance profits are regulated by the states as rate increases need to be approved. Insurance companies generally make less than 5% profit. Well under what a normal company makes.
Actually I think you might be a little high on health insurance companies profit margins. The trick is that those figures only come from the underwriting part of an insurance company’s business. Insurance companies make the bulk of their profit on their investment portfolios and for some reason they forget to include that part of their business in their rate request formulas. Funny how that works isn’t it. It’s a lot like if a bank only used their mortgage income and didn’t include their higher rate credit cards in their profit figures.
I was unaware of that. I get my numbers from the SEC stock filings which I assume includes investment income.
Most companies roll their receivables and in the case of insurance companies their reserves into income producing vehicles. Your company probably does also.
Here is yahoos Aetna report.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=AET+Key+Statistics
I have no doubt that when it comes to SEC, Tax or other required filings that the numbers are all included. It is when rate increases are requested that the fuzzy math starts. Of course now as long as they limit rate increases to 9.99% it’s help yourself.
That 10% is not what you think it means.
This year for the first time in a long time we brought in three different agents to quote on coverage. Our current agent did not have the best price, but his plan was the most comprehensive. As I said we could have spent less had we increased deductibles or chosen to go with a less comprehensive plan but we decided to put up with the increase and keep the coverage the same. Our company provides industrial engineering services in all of the New England States with the exception of VT. and it is worth the extra expense to us to keep our people.
I wish this forum gave us the opportunity to communicate directly. I think my agent could save you money. There are more options than simply reducing coverage to save money. We are not cutting benefits but may be able to increase them with this new plan. We value our people also.
My policy with Athem has gone up every year since Obama has been in office, and they told me, that it was in anticpation of Obamacare coming. This year, I could no longer afford it.
It has been going up even before Obama got in office.
Since most of the provisions of the Obama healthcare act are only just beginning to kick in this year, it’s a little premature to be judging its effects. Time will tell.
Oh, please, President Obama has not caused all your problems. Surely there are a few that are your fault and not his. Surely.
but but but, he is a black socialist who wants to take my guns, it MUST be his fault! You obviously don’t understand Kenyan anti-colonial behavior like I do…
/snark
LOL, now that’s funny!!
your policy, with Athem went up before Obama too.
It has gone up every year period. Don’t lie to prove your point.
The damage in Maine started 20 years ago. Libby Mitchell had a big role in that.
What’s with the blatant dishonesty? Prices never rise without the involvement of a Democrat? Insurance prices and medical costs were flat up until 20 years ago?
I think dishonesty in political discussions are a bigger problem and lead us further from the solutions we need to find.
Mitchell was a prime mover in 1993 of adopting the “Community rating system”. As a result of that law change increases in insurance premiums increased at a rate on average of 20% per year for the next 5. Rates exploded well above the national average until Maine was either number 1 or number 2 for rates for the next 15 years.
If the proponent of that legislation were a Republican I would be just as angry and ignoring the past is a good way to repeat it.
Thank you Thomas. Your letter should be published in each and every newspaper each and every day. The corporate takeover of our liberties can be laid at the repugs feet with the help of the dums of course. The repugs are fascist and the dums are just that……dumb.
The list is too long, in terms of what problems Obama has caused me personally. Let’s see, military issues, taxes, health insurance, heating with coal, education. I simply do not like socialism, period.
I don’t think Obama, had much to do with your problems. It goes back more then 3 years.
Here is the ALEC model bill: http://alecexposed.org/w/images/0/06/5I0-High-Risk_Health_Insurance_Pool_Model_Act_Exposed.pdf and here is LD 1333 that changed Stephen McKay’s life: http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/bills_125th/billtexts/HP097901.asp . You decide who was well served by this piece of legislation. ALEC has corrupted our political landscape and hurt people is my conclusion.
spammer
Any politician – even down to the “select” man /person level – who will not participate in the education about and pursuit of Monetary Reform – is not worth the paper their election ballot is printed on … because THIS is an issue that underlies nearly everything else in our world.
I do appreciate the Bangor Daily News publishing my piece and do understand the need to shorten it due to space limitations. However, for those interested following is my original submission.
Maine: A Corporate State?
The divide in America is not between political parties and their ideologies, between religious beliefs, between rich and poor, or between value systems; it is between the corporate state and the citizen.
Paul LePage knows what he wants; a corporate state. Paul LePage, his staff, and his supporters clearly march to the following orders; establish optimal conditions for private firms to enter Maine so that they may profit without interference.
The marching orders follow a simple set of principles.
• Eliminate outside influence on compensation and benefits.
• Consolidate control of operating expenses.
• Remove controls (regulations) impacting freedom of action.
• Establish barriers that prevent challenges to the corporate state’s control.
The marching orders are clear, concise; the guidelines are flexible, yet focused. Easily understood and executed in our world of sound bites and generalities; critical thinking is not required.
Removal of collective bargaining rights for Child Care Providers was a symbolic message to corporate entities “Maine is Open for Business, no wage or benefit concerns here” and to the citizens of Maine “your rights to fair compensation and benefits are controlled by the corporate state”.
The attempt to repeal the Maine ban of BPA, the harmful chemical found in plastic bottles, was another symbolic message to corporate entities “Maine is open for business, put what you want into your products” and to the citizens of Maine “don’t waste your time challenging the corporate state about health concerns because Paul LePage and his administration doesn’t care about your health”.
Educational Commissioner Steve Bowen’s dismissal of a citizen’s group shortly after Paul LePage’s comment that “all middle-management are corrupt”, was a message to corporate entities “Maine is open for business; if someone gets in your way, they’re gone”. Steve Bowen indicating he would develop the educational plan internally by the end of the year said to Maine citizens “you will not have input into your child’s education except through support of for-profit charter or religious schools”.
None of this is difficult to accomplish if you have the legislative votes and pre-written legislation (ALEC); critical thinking is not required.
Can it be more insidious? State revenue from within the state comes from state income, sales, and real estate taxes. Reducing the state income tax more than likely places additional burden on sales and real estate taxes; and that is Paul LePage’s intent. Those who can least afford real estate tax increases are the middle-class and working-class. Mainers will have to work harder and longer, for wages and benefits more highly controlled by corporate entities. The message to corporate entities is “Maine is open for business, pay the citizens what you want, no one will get in your way because they won’t have the time or money to object” and to the citizens of Maine “go to Wal-Mart, treat yourself to a six-pack of PBR, sit on the porch and count your blessings”.
Elimination of the middle-class and working-class, is it social Darwinism or social genocide? Paul LePage doesn’t care what you call his actions, all he cares about is being CEO of a corporate state, and he is well on his way. Unless…(Thoughts?)