Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller for August 28, 2010

That’s pretty much it in a nutshell.

Just pass the hoops and you get on the merry-go-round with no exit. Department of Defense is the same way.

A Classic…needs to framed.

Originally published 1/27/06

Scary-true. So much paperwork to re-title a car (as I had to do once), plus new license-number, and so forth. And no sympathy at all from the officious drones….

“Officious drones” get the same pay whether you’re happy or not, and whether their performance is ample or not.

Any organization without a feedback loop is running what, in electronics, we call “open-loop”, and is subject to stray howls and bizarre behavior.

Suggestion boxes, online ombudsman, and whistleblower protections will (someday) make bureaucracies (and private enterprises too) much more servicable. That’s the world I want to live in, and why I suggest it.

Actually, our DMV has become surprisingly efficient. My wife just got her new license, and the whole experience took 20 minutes. You can even renew your license online.

Now, the hoops we have to jump through for our insurance company ….

Dismal thought for the day: We are no longer a manufacturing economy, and are in the transition to a “service economy” – whatever that is. In order to maintain employment, will we have to come up with more and more positions for officious drones? And, of course, live with what that does to our lives?

What’s with all the hoopla? and blowing smoke up my bottom?

Yeah, here in Michigan it has become surprisingly efficient. I can register on-line(as long as I have proof of insurance). I recently changed the ownership of a vehicle, the whole process took less than 20 minutes and they were very helpful. But, I remember days when this was not so…oh the humanity!!!

I just ran into this person in S. Yarmouth MA, who wanted me to wait in a 45 minute line just to pick up a form for a handicap sticker for my ailing father. All the other forms were on tables, so I asked if there was one for the handicapped sticker. She said, “well I can give you one but you have to get in line.” I said, “I’m not applying today, I have to take it to my father and the doc has to sign it. I just need the blank form.” “You still have to stand in line,” she said. I took the form and left. I heard today that the government has hired 180,000 additional federal employees this past year. So much for “stimulus” and for “saving or creating” new jobs. This IS our FUTURE!

The DMV, the Post Office, and other such bureaucracies -

STUPIDD-D-D… STUPIDDD-D-D-D!

No way is that the DMV. The line is too short.

Her first sentence is indicative of how “all” government works. Too bad if you don’t like it!

I used to work behind the counter. Lasted 8 months. I tried to be nice. Passed a kid who went through a red light . He realized half way through what he’s done and the rest of the test was perfect. I told him to go to the light and make a left. He looked, it was clear, so he went. Almost got killed three times. DID NOT PAY ENOUGH!

Fact worth remembering: half of all the people you encounter have IQs below 100. That includes clerks at counters, other drivers, other voters, members of Congress of both parties, etc.

Even if they’re some kind of professional like a doctor or a lawyer, who might have an IQ above 100 (no guaranty), remember that half of them graduated in the bottom 50% percent of their class.

See? Life is explained! :P

What, no springboard?

I’ve been saying for many years that those who complain about the public sector bureaucracy have obviously never had to deal with a major US corporation.

Please. Our local DMV isn’t anything like that. They can’t afford the fire, for one thing…

And the hoops are in two different locations, but still…

Oddly, in SC, the DMV gets it right and the process is helpful, quick and not. Not what we had come to expect from SC bureacracy!

Try dealing the VA department. It you weren’t disabled when you got in line you are before you get out.

Maybe the Bush “problems” were a result of all the obstacles thrown up by the Democrats. They certainly did not help the administration respond to the challenges presented by 9/11.

In AZ, your license is good until you turn 65. So you have the road full of people who haven’t had to pay attention to the laws for decades. AZ is the best place to live if you want to get killed on the road.

But the MVD is very efficient and uncrowded, so some people are happy.

I NEVER like to stand in the longest line at the only one main office of DMV. I had seen many, many, many people with their unhappy faces at the main office of DMV. Ouch! We had two small offices which were called “Express DMV” but the state of NV closed two offices because the financial budget was in crisis. sighhhh!

Fire and hoops?…We ain’t seen nothing yet.

It’s not that bad…

The process in Utah’s DMVs has always been a hassle, with the fire and hoops, but then became a little easier when the license was good for 10 years, but only if you sent in forms every few years to get a sticker to put on the back of your license. NOW, as of last year, because of our illegal immigration problem, we ALL have to go into the DVM after our maximum five-year license expires, with three or four different specified types of ID, to renew. I’ve heard the new lines are hellish. It’s been in the newspapers. I had to get in the lines in 2008, and will have to get in the worse lines in 2013. Bureaucracy is alive and well in Utah.

Another, even more fun obstacle course used to be college registration. Wait in line, then they tell you you need X, Y and Z to sign, wait some more–nope, that course is closed. Now Prof Q must sign. Wait some more, closed again, so shift section, but then you need W to OK it… .

That’s the way it is with ALL Gubmint sooner or later. And there are folks, either naive or stupid, who want more.

@dsom8 What obstacles did the Democrats throw up? Congress rubber stamped every suggestion that Bush made. “We can’t find Osama bin Laden, so why don’t we go attack someone who’s not hiding?” “Okay!”

This one is a keeper

Government is still we the people, it may be slow and inefficient at times… however it’s not trying to make a profit at your expense.

If you like the DMV, your gonna love ObamaCare!

Judging from the comments, the experience at a DMV office has improved since this cartoon was originally circulated. Perhaps that’s what helped “encourage” the improvements. :-D

… just go around.

That’s nothing. The IRS has all that, plus a tip jar on the counter. :-P

In WIsconsin ,renew your car plates on line. Easy.

Ah, one of the few pleasures reserved for those of us who are too young to drive…

The sad part about it is, he’s in the wrong line.

Tell me about it. Moved to a new state, attempted to get a new driver’s license, was told the new state requires that I complete their written driver’s test. Because, apparently, a valid driver’s license from another state isn’t proof enough that I know how to drive?!

EDIT: @elbeck … this new state WAS the Hoosier state. Efficient? It was an hour and a half long nightmare!

My aunt works in DMV, so when I got my permit, she told me exactly where to go, so that I could be done in about half an hour (including the written test).