Free Republic

To borrow a term from computing, it is time to reinstall the U.S. Congress. Over time, a computer operating system such as Windows becomes corrupted by installing and uninstalling other computer programs, adding and removing hardware, attacks by viruses and other malware, and assorted other hazards associated with using a computer. Eventually the system becomes corrupted so badly that the computer must be purged of its contents, and the operating system and other programs must be replaced with a fresh, uncorrupted copy. Failure to periodically purge-and-replace leads to a broken, nonfunctional system. The computer analogy ought to remind you of...

Fitch downgrades Maine bonds AUGUSTA — As the state prepares for a $143 million spring bond sale, Fitch Ratings Friday became the second Wall Street agency this week to drop its rating for Maine's general obligation bonds. Fitch said it was downgrading the state's outstanding general obligation to AA from AA+, and assigning an AA rating to bonds expected June 6. Moody's Investors Service announced Tuesday it was downgrading Maine's general obligation bonds from AA2 to AA3. Fitch cited "the state's financial pressures in recent years, depletion of reserves, and a continuing structural imbalance, enlarged by assumption of a larger...

State: 'No providers will get paid' By Victoria Wallack Statehouse Reporter Email this story to a friend AUGUSTA (May 4): The Department of Health and Human Services may have overpaid some Medicaid providers by as much as $51 million because its new computerized billing system still isn’t working –- an error that could mean the state will run out of money before the start of the new fiscal year. The overpayment, which is just an estimate, is more bad news for the department already being criticized for not paying providers enough because of its computer meltdown. “No providers will get...