Dealing With Government Agencies

At 34 years old, I figure I've paid taxes for the last 18 years. I've invested alot of money into the government from which I've yet to see any return. Not that I've ever grumbled about my tax dollars, I think like most people, I just wrote them off as gone, hopefully to a worthy cause. Just another American citizen, paying into the system.

We have health insurance, but adding that maternity rider to it was prohibitively expensive, and didn't really cover much of the prenatal & delivery. Since we just assumed we were destined to be a single-child family, we decided not to add that extra expense to our family budget. So, now that we're pregnant, we needed to explore Medicaid to be able to afford prenatal care.

Oh, the joys of dealing with government workers. Am I just being hormonal and oversensitive, or are they all just the most sour people on the planet? Is everyone who comes to them for assistance dehumanized? How can they stand their jobs, since they truly seem to believe that they are FAR better than the rest of the unwashed masses?

I was talked to as if I have an IQ far below national average. I was belittled, even though I was following the directions I was given at the Health Department (another place to be treated like crap, IMHO), I was ignored. I was almost reduced to tears. And, essentially, I'm paying their salaries to treat me like this. How frustrating!

It's so hard for me to admit I need public assistance. This is a place I never thought I'd be. But I'm here, and I deserve to be treated like a human being, with respect and courtesy. Ad maybe, just maybe, a little sensitivity.

What do you think? Have you ever had the pleasure of going to the unemployment office, or the social security department? Have you noticed a distince lack of customer service chops? Is there anything we can do about this?