Mental Health, Medicaid and and the Maine Budget

When I was in Psychology class in College we were taught about the Id and The Superego. I remember being told that people who were starving to death or who do not have the proper shelter usually do not worry about if they are happy or satisfied with their lot in life. Of course we also liked that the professor said along with shelter and food that sex was a requirement of life. Unfortunately that line did not semm to work with the girls.

Conversely over and over we hear numbers that say that mental health may be the most underrated cause of all the problems in society. Mental illness is a factor in crime, social problems, unemployment and on and on it goes. It would be safe to say that most people have someone in their lives who has to deal with mental issues and most of those people are not receiving treatment.

So what does all this mean. It means that we have a large problem when state services for those that qualify for Medicaid are in many cases results of mental illness. Now defining what mental illness is and is not is important. Would it be safe to say that being depressed and not possessing of the self control and discipline to be a good parent is a mental illness. I do not know.

Here is what I do know. If the Dorothea Dix Center in Bangor has to lay off 45, or over twenty percent of their staff to close a budget gap, then it seems likely that in the next budget we will see the center close for good. I cannot speak to the efficiencies that may or may not be achieved by combining the institutions. I do know that having only one center in Maine will be a hardship on communities and certainly on law enforcement.

This is a rambling essay. What does it says in a society that budget cuts are the norm at the same time as tax cuts for the wealthy remain a priority.

The first rule to keep one from feeling depressed is never look at the comments section of a story in the newspaper. Today in reading the comments regarding the Dorothea Dix layoffs some folks blame LePage, but most point out rightly that a seven million dollar gap is just that and if jobs need to be cut so be it. This is a correct fact, though if it were there jobs they would not be so easy with the outcome.

I saw on a show a while back that the biggest shock is that people are not marching in the streets. We have unemployment high, a permanant underclass of undertrained individuals who have done the right things and had their life situations change, a divided culture, tax cuts for the rich, corporate welfare, wars which cost billions to no positive effect and at the same time consistent cuts to services for those that can least afford them, cuts to education and on and on it goes.

One wonders if people were not so placated with our shiny screens and technology if folks would understand how bad things are. Instead the masses are kept quiet and stagnant.

The Maine budget crisis is no different than the rest of the countries. The question is where is the anger.