So much for information technology

Can you say Catch 22?
There seem to be some communication problems in Jefferson City.
I recently went to the Missouri Department of Insurance Web site, www.insurance.mo.gov, to see if the department had anything to say about Gov. Matt Blunt’s plan to require insurers to cover services commonly utilized by children with disabilities, part of his proposed changes to the state’s First Steps program. Covered services would include physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and assistive technology.
I was surprised by the governor’s announcement, because as businesspeople know, mandated coverage of any kind drives overall costs higher. Would developmental disabilties be considered pre-existing conditions? Would families be able to afford premiums?
I’m afraid the Insurance Department Web site is silent on the issue. In fact, it is now silent on all issues.
I didn’t see a link that mentioned the First Steps program, so I clicked on the Jan. 21 news release about Blunt’s appointment of a new department director, thinking I’d get the phone number and call the director’s office.
For some reason, the link took me not to the news release, but to the site map.
Puzzled, I scrolled down the site map to “News Releases” and clicked the link.
It took me to the site map.
I backed up to the front page again and clicked on a random link on the page - “Life, health and auto” under the Consumer heading.
It took me to the site map.
Realizing something was very wrong with the Insurance Department’s site, I clicked on “Contact us” so I could e-mail the department about the problem.
It took me to the site map.
Apparently, absolutely any link on the site takes you to the site map. And no matter what you click on in the site map, you get the site map.
I love seeing my tax dollars at work!
We’ll pursue some other options on the First Steps issue. Keep your eye on these pages.

Budget cuts
When it comes to political parties, I have to say that I love Republicans best for their dedication to fiscal restraint and responsibility, while I love Democrats best for their desire to help the disadvantaged and disenfranchised.
Unfortunately, I think both parties go to extremes in pursuing those ideals.
Too often, I find Republicans a little too Puritanical in their expectations that everyone pull themselves up by their own bootstraps, an attitude that fails to recognize a significant lack of bootstraps, and in some cases, boots.
Too often, I find Democrats want to solve all societal problems by throwing money at them, creating a codependent relationship between tax-funded programs and their beneficiaries and providing more of a handout than a hand up.
I think the best solutions and the best government lie smack in between the ideals of each – responsible spending with sensitivity and compassion.
As legislators consider cuts to the state’s programs, I ask only that they remember the motto on the Great Seal of the State of Missouri: “Let the welfare of the people be the supreme law.”

Clarissa French is editor of Springfield Business Journal.