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Note: Even if you don’t live in Nebraska, you are likely to find this article of interest. In fact, we would ask you to read it and see if you notice similar phenomena in your area. If so, we encourage you to leave comment (see bottom).

A few weeks ago, Linda told me she wanted to show me a billboard advertising Nebraska’s Medicaid program¹. In response, I proposed we take a drive around the city to check out what other offerings might be found on our city’s billboards.

Although the particular sign Linda had wanted me to see was gone, there were many others to be seen on our little excursion. Sadly, the majority of the signs we saw were NOT advertising products or services provided by businesses; they were advertising or promoting government programs or those of non-profit entities. What does that say about the overall economy?

If you’re wondering where some of our tax dollars (and the ~$.43 cents on every dollar borrowed) are going, you need look no further than some of the billboards you pass every day, listen to your radio, or watch some TV.

Government is not only taking our money, the money of several generations of our descendants, and creating it out of thin air to spend for all kinds of damaging and dubious programs, it’s paying, directly or indirectly, to advertise those damaging and dubious programs to people. Of course that’s sure to MULTIPLY the spending.

After our little excursion to gather pictures, we’ve become extremely curious about some of the billboards’ contents and have learned more about them. The unfortunate trend we’ve long suspected to be true has only been reinforced by our inquiry. Signs of explosive government growth, and therefore its waste of taxpayer (borrowed, printed) funds and its intrusion into every aspect of our lives are to be found literally everywhere. Essentially, if one has a suspicion that some dubious enterprise has some connection to government, that suspicion is more often true than not.

Nebraskans comfort themselves that America’s problems can all be solved by changing out the fella that sits in the White House and by taking control of the U.S. Senate. But, its very important to note that the increasing size of government’s tentacles involves ALL levels of government, and therefore necessarily means that elected officials and unelected bureaucrats at the town / city, county, and state levels are as big-government oriented (or helpless, incompetent to turn the tide) as the people in Washington, D.C.

Linda’s and my expedition and resulting inquiries, have caused us both to pay more attention to other forms of media to see if government and non-profits are advertising elsewhere. We’ve not been surprised to find that, yes, indeed, many of the same programs advertised on the billboards are being promoted on TV, radio, and in print. We hope to touch upon some of these subjects in more depth soon. For now, it seems as if the billboards constitute plenty of reasons for us all to scratch our heads.

If the old expression about a picture being worth a thousand words is, indeed, correct, imagine multiplying these signs a thousand times. These signs, the programs, and the waste are likely being replicated all over the country.

Imagine a giant sucking sound while looking at these pictures. It’s the sound of our money and our ability to have any control over the size of government being sucked away.

Once we embarked upon our little trip, it didn’t take us long to come upon the following sign:

Medicaid Billboard seen in Northeast Lincoln

We saw this sign repeatedly as we traveled our circuit through Lincoln, which started in the northeast corner and included a significant portion of the north, bounded by 27th Street, some of the southwest, downtown, and some of the center. We only captured two shots of the Medicaid advertisement above, although we saw quite a few more. Here’s the sign in another location…

Medicaid billboard at 10th & South

Note that the billboard “Putting the Aid in Medicaid” is touting a government welfare program – Nebraska Medicaid. Were government funds used to pay for this? Notice the United Healthcare logo. Did United pay for it? If so, why?

We’ll not dive further into those questions here, but, I must report that I’ve called the toll free number shown on the sign:

“This message will play in both English and Spanish.

You have reached the Medicaid Enrollment Center.”

WONDERFUL! A sign sending people straight for a welfare program sign-up and, thank goodness, they are providing official government help for non-English speaking people.

Such salubrious salutations were followed by a menu of options for…

• Individuals who received letters about upcoming “open enrollment”
• Questions regarding a denial notice
• Ability to choose a doctor and a health plan
• Medical providers making eligibility inquiries

After hearing the entire recording in English, the whole thing is then played in Spanish. (Hmmm. That’s very strange, isn’t it? According to the Nebraska Constitution, Article I, Section 27, English is Nebraska’s official language.² But, I digress…)

In addition to noting business hours and the fact that offices are closed on state holidays, callers are instructed that certain inquiries require a call to…

NEBRASKA CUSTOMER SERVICE

Excuse me?! Customer service?

Definition of the word “customer”:

“1. a person who purchases goods or services from another; buyer; patron”

But…wait…this gets better. Not only is Nebraska’s state government redefining the definition of words (welfare recipients are now customers), in conjunction with some “private” insurers, our state government is working to help everyone feel good about it.

At least that is the impression conveyed by another sign we saw repetitively throughout the city:

Coventry Medicaid Sign – this one located on N. 27th Street

OK. Just WHO is this Doctor Bear fellow? I know the sight of a cuddly-looking teddy bear dressed in doctor’s garb, hawking a government welfare program makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. How about you?

A visit to Coventry’s website gives the impression that its primary business is administering Medicaid, although confirmation is a matter for another day.

Unlike the Medicaid signs, which raise a lot of questions about “private” insurer involvement, another sign we saw more than once is straightforward in its advertisement for a government welfare program.

Nebraska's SHIIP Medicare billboard

If you already knew or read my footnote about the differences between Medicaid and Medicare, then you know that Medicare is a purely federal program. It is supposed to be, but that doesn’t mean that the State of Nebraska doesn’t get in on this part of the welfare system, too. Nebraska SHIIP is the Senior Health Insurance Information Program. The website serves as the gateway to the benefit programs provided to seniors. Among the many features promoted on the page is a Facebook group. Brilliant! We all know senior citizens are the predominating demographic that uses Facebook (NOT!). So that’s an efficient use of taxpayer resources? Yep.

And furthermore, yes, by all means, let’s advertise Medicare. Brilliant idea! It’s not being CUT or anything. It’s not on the brink of insolvency. Nope. Solid as a rock. Sign up more people!

But, here’s my favorite health care sign, actually my favorite sign of the day, hands down…

Senior Medicare Patrol sign on Cornhusker Highway

This is so good, you couldn’t even make it up if you tried.

It took Linda and me awhile to stop laughing. A PATROL? Apparently Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services took a cue from Department of Homeland Security’s Janet Napolitano’s “If you see something, say something” program. That’s the reason I couldn’t stop laughing. Linda, on the other hand, was thinking about Monty Python’s Hell’s Grannies sketch. In reality, it’s not all that funny, it’s really more shades of George Orwell.

The sign says “health care fraud is big business”. Yes. There is certainly waste, fraud, and abuse in government programs that need cleaning up. Can we start with this billboard???

Government is quite clearly a BIG business.

Oh, but wait, there’s even more!

We can’t leave anyone out of the government program advertising, now can we? We must include the younger set, as well. Now moving to the opposite end of the age spectrum…

Free Services! Free! Free? Really? Did the money fairies drop out of the sky to pay for this sign or for the program itself?

This billboard advertises the Head Start program in Lancaster and Saunders counties. Head Start has traditionally been preschool for “at risk” populations. Free preschool, of course. First of all, it is very important to note that Head Start is a proven failure; within the first few years of starting school, there is literally no difference in the academic achievement of children who attended Head Start versus those who did not.

The aggressive moves are on to expand this program as much as possible and not just to “at risk” children. And you, the taxpayer, are paying for it, mostly through backdoor channels. At the end of July, we ran the story, “$130k for School Diversity Manuals Just the Tip of the Nebraska Stimulus Iceberg“, in which we revealed that “Stimulus” program funds, were used to, among other things, pay for temporary / pilot Head Start programs AND the tuition bills for  a number of Nebraska teachers to obtain the degrees required for early childhood education.

That’s all we’ll say for the moment, but we’ve already found out a whole lot more on the topic, and it’s mighty “interesting”, to say the least.

Yet another sign we saw more than once:

Some folks may wonder why advertising by non-profits would be listed along with government services as being of concern. An unfortunate consequence of increased government spending is the proliferation of government grants in general. In fact, in mentioning one of the signs regarding why our country is in so much trouble, one key subject worth pondering is the spending of tax dollars in the form of grants. It is important to point out that some non-profits receive grants from state, county, and local governments, and of course, the federal government.

I think Linda’s recommendation of another Monty Python skit does the best job of illustrating just how out of control the government grant racket has gotten.

While an agency providing subsidies for the development of silly walks seems absurd in the extreme, how absurd is it that a government grant program uses as a measure of success “pounds of carbon reduced”? I speak, of course, of Lincoln Mayor Chris Beutler’s “Cleaner Greener Lincoln” program. It’s an example of wasteful grants spent to further a particular political agenda. Beutler applied for and received $2 million in federal stimulus funds for the “Cleaner Greener” program, which promotes sustainable development. While quoting “pounds” reduced, the standard measurement is tonnage, and a little calculating reveals that Beutler’s much-beloved effort cost $7,092.20 per ton of carbon supposedly reduced through the program.

I could not, of course, pass up an opportunity to get a shot of the following, while we were out…

Lincoln Energy Challenge – Part of "Cleaner Greener Lincoln"

But, once again, I digress. (It’s so hard not to and it’s not because I have ADD, ladies and gentleman.)

Another "Sober Kids" sign, targetting Spanish speakers

The “Sober Kids” signs, it turns out, are also being paid for, in large measure, with taxpayer money. A visit to the Sober Kids website formerly/http://soberkids.org/front/quickFrontQuestionnaire.jsp lands visitors on a page with a survey about drinking and the use of other substances. The survey presents a series of false choices and appears designed to skew input towards…wait for it…more government-funded programs.

As of this writing, the site notifies that visitors must fill out the survey and provide their contact information in order to be eligible for the $100 South Pointe Pavilions gift card drawing.

**Sigh**. Advertisements and freebie lures.

Included with the survey, the sign up, etc., are two logos for the Lincoln Council on Alcoholism and Drugs and Lancaster County Substance Abuse Action Coalition. I won’t go into a whole lot of detail about either of these entities, other than to point to LCAD’s website and it’s most recent annual report available there, which is from 2008 – 2009 (Isn’t it 2011 now?? But, again, I digress.).

LCAD’s board of directors is mostly comprised of government employees, many attached to education and health care, but it also includes a few attorneys and a couple of banking / finance people. The report reveals that the majority of the funding for LCAD comes from…wait for it, again…government.

So, to summarize, if you’re wondering why I would target “non-profits” it’s because LCAD is typical. Ever heard the phrase “public / private partnership”? LCAD is one.

And, a final note on the SoberKids signs. Anyone else think these signs could be construed as insulting to Hispanics? Why are they the primary targets? Is this racist? It also makes no sense. According to the LCAD annual report, only 7% of “clients” were Hispanic.

But do not worry, English-speaking people, you have not been left out of these condescending campaigns by LCAD and SAAC; I saw a similar billboard on Superior Street last week (near 40th Street). I wasn’t able to stop and snap a shot of it, but suffice it to say, we English-speaking folk are apparently in need of a lecture about drinking, too.

Here is one final sign type seen on our excursion. There are lot of them around Lincoln and the number seems to be growing:

Commercial real estate sign on Cornhusker Highway

I know a lot of people think that the “mortgage meltdown” revolved around sub-prime mortgages for residential properties. Unfortunately, since the ever-larger bubbles in our economy are not ever allowed to pop, that means a lot of remnants from one bubble carry over into the next. Ever heard of the commercial real estate bubble? Let’s just say it’s one of the remnants from the housing bubble. Maybe I missed it, but there’s not been much discussion and I’m not aware that it has popped.

I do wonder whether the increasing number of commercial real estate signs I’m seeing…

1) Are a negative indicator regarding Lincoln’s economic health

2) Have ANY relationship to

a – any of the above signs and the corresponding government policies

b – the fact that the largest industry in Nebraska is….

(drum roll, anyone?)

Government

We encourage anyone reading this to share other such photos with us by linking to them in the comments section or using the form, located here, to upload them.

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All images within this post are copyright Grassroots in Nebraska and Tarah Dawdy Photo, all rights reserved.

Special thanks to my daughter, Tarah, who was patient enough to ride all over the city along with two women who wanted pictures of billboards. Her career interest is photography and she is currently pursuing a BFA at the University of South Dakota. She did not request any credit for her efforts, but we kind of like her.