When Government Gets Out of the Way, We All Win

When I first walked in, the receptionist quickly looked at all my documents, making sure I was legal, and told me to go stand in line 13.  Of course, I had brought everything I own:   driver's license, birth certificate, passport, social security number, marriage license (since my birth certificate is in my maiden name), and a current copy of TV guide.  I don't know about the rules in other states, but every time I have gone into the Motor Vehicle Agency in this state, I have always been sent home like a bad child to retrieve one more item of identification that was missing. 

The pleasant woman at the counter also asked if I would mind filling out a questionnaire about my experience at which point I responded, "You're kidding me, right?"  She smiled in response. 

Dutifully, I took the questionnaire as well as my place in line #13 and before I could finish filling out my check, I was called to the next opening available.  The young man asked me if I wanted to keep my old photo.  (As it is 5 years old, I knew it would look a lot better than a current one so of course I agreed!)   He then told me to go sit in the waiting area.   I had barely sunk my teeth into a good article about Patrick Swayze when I was interrupted after only the 2^nd paragraph and called back to the booth.  I assumed I had made a mistake in some aspect of the process so I returned to the young man who promptly handed me my new license – finished and ready to go. 

I was stunned, having brought my current copy of TV Guide not only as proof that I still live at the same address but also because I thought I would be waiting for quite some time.  Earlier this morning, one of my clients told me that the NJMVA had become privatized.  Boy, was he right.  What a difference business can make when government gets out of its way! Incidentally, I gave them an excellent grade on the survey.  

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Comments on this article:

» left by Chris Cole ⁽⁸²⁶⁾ (38 days 9 hours ago.)

Awesome experience! One does not hear of this type of service anymore. Good article.

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» left by Nancy Daniels ^(1,785)
Nancy Daniels (36 days 20 hours ago.)

Yeh, It was pretty cool, Chris. Thanks for reading.

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» left by Steve Kovacs ^(4,414)
Steve Kovacs (37 days 22 hours ago.)

Great article and an outstanding example on how capitalism actually works.

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» left by Nancy Daniels ^(1,785)
Nancy Daniels (36 days 20 hours ago.)

Steve,

 

Watch what you say! Capitalism working? Oh my goodness! That's a dirty word anymore. Of course, if it really is so bad, why are some other countries trying to move in the right direction?

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» left by Mishio Tsenaka ⁽⁰⁾
Mishio Tsenaka (37 days 21 hours ago.)

Is this a true story? I'm seriously shocked. How were they able to Privatize? I'm in New York State, and I hope this Privatization thing is viral. If it is, I'll very happily volunteer to be the host that spreads it to DC.

Mishio Tsenaka

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» left by Nancy Daniels ^(1,785)
Nancy Daniels (36 days 20 hours ago.)

Mishio,

 

I don't know how it happened here or when but it works. Voice your concerns to your state government and give them a push.

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» left by Marijo Phelps ^(2,747)
Marijo Phelps (37 days 10 hours ago.)

MOST encouraging! Maybe we dare have hope that this will spread! A wonderful tribute to your people at DMV too! Marijo

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» left by Nancy Daniels ^(1,785)
Nancy Daniels (36 days 20 hours ago.)

Thanks Marijo,

 

Yes, it is a tribute to people who actually smile doing their jobs.

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» left by Harlan Foster ⁽³¹⁾
Harlan Foster from Sao Paulo, Brasil (36 days 12 hours ago.)

Nancy, an excellent way to show how privitised industry can flourish without the interference of government. I have war stories, galore, about getting my license in the state of California or getting anything done in the CA DMV system. But you have motivated me to believe that miracles still happen and even NJ can get turned around.

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» left by Nancy (35 days 17 hours ago.)

Harlan,

 

Thank you. Yes, if NJ can do it, anybody can do it!

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» left by E. Raymond Rock ^(3,160)
E. Raymond Rock (35 days 18 hours ago.)

Sorry Nancy, a well written article and you presented your ideas well. Again, however, I couldn't disagree with you more. I like socialism, which is the great equalizer for ALL the people. Privatization simply puts the price of goods and services out of reach for poor people and minorities, and many times even the middle class. The health care system is a great example of this. Nancy Reagan's "war on drugs" where she recommended that kids "just say no" was a cop out of real reform where underprivileged people would have a helping hand, which her husband wanted nothing to do with, (helping people that weren't rich), so now we have gangs and high crime. Maybe not in your neighborhood?

Best............e 
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» left by Nancy Daniels (35 days 17 hours ago.)

e,

 

By the way, I was never in agreement with Nancy Reagan's approach. The answer is to eat dinner with your kids every night, talk to your children, and pay attention to their friends.  This advice is not partisan, not socialism and not capitalism.  It is called putting the interests of raising your children first and foremost.  That is what is lacking in so many families today.

 

Can you explain why the nightmare of a motor vehicle agency being run by the government is better than a private agency that runs smoothly, quickly, effectively, and pleasantly? 

 

Regarding socialism, the great equalizer?  You can have it in many other countries.  Take your pick.  Why force an ideology on a majority of people who obviously don't want it?

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» left by E. Raymond Rock ^(3,160)
E. Raymond Rock (35 days 13 hours ago.)

Hi Nancy, Well, we don't disagree on everything! Yay. Ronald Reagan was the middle class‘s worst nightmare and the damage he's done is just coming home to roost, as we have just witnessed by the economic implosion, which is far from over with more to come when our currency becomes second fiddle in a few years. Guess what, if someone decides to cash in some of their Uncle Sam bonds, we are broke! We are going to end up just like GM - bankrupt, thanks to good old RR and his laissez faire, trickle up, “let the rich get richer and who cares about the poor attitude“.

I agree that you can't beat staying home with the kids, but that is becoming a luxury and an impossibility for plain folks these days. I am involved with the Thai community, some of the most loving, family oriented people you would ever want to meet, yet they must work two and three jobs, and seldom have health care because they can't afford it, plus their employers, usually some kind of service work - restaurants etc., only offer part time work to get out of paying for employee’s health care, and don't even pay full time employees health care. I'm not sure what your background or situation is, but statistically, this working two or three jobs is more prevalent now than in the old days when the husband worked and the mom stayed home, or when both husband and wife worked. When you work two or three jobs to try and make it because employers don't pay much  (yet drive Porches), how much time do you have to get to know your own kids, let  alone their friends? Just a different perspective, I think a real perspective, and one from experience, not from academia. Is it the poor people’s fault, or the system that keeps them poor?

Regarding DMV, the one in San Antonio is very busy because it serves many people and does so very efficiently, I might say. The ones in rural Texas are usually not busy at all, and very pleasant and friendly. Neither are a nightmare except to perhaps those who are self centered, spoiled, “I’m very important, and I’m very impatient” etc. If DMV was privately run, the prices would not only skyrocket, but all the small “unprofitable” rural DMVs would be closed faster than a New York minute because profit is mercenary, and doesn‘t really care about people in rural America, or people in general except to get their money. Privatizing goes after the money, socialism goes after the people‘s interests - Sorry.

If you’ve never worked commission sales and argued day and night with your fellow salespeople who try to steal you blind of your sales and your customers, then you don’t understand the evil and greed of dog eat dog capitalism. China, who will surpass us in the next ten or twenty years economically, has it about right, a good mix of socialism and capitalism. Since you have the means to travel, why not check out China.You might be surprised.  By the way, one of the reasons that foreigners don’t care for Americans is that after they are kind enough to host us, we then criticize and judge their customs and try to tell them how they should do things. Kind of arrogant, wouldn’t you say.

And regarding forcing socialism on people, I got news for you - they like socialism. They like the military, the VA hospitals, medicare, the school system which has room for everyone even kids who don’t have the money for private schools, the post office that delivers to me while UPS and Fed Ex won‘t because I live too far out in the country. They like the roads and environmental protections, social security for old folks that have no pension because of employer greed, Congress enjoys "cradle to grave" social medical and retirement that is over the top even when compared to the old Soviet Central Committee members. The list goes on and on, believe me. Just look around and see what the government has provided for you. Without the government, you could put out your own fires and fight the gangs yourself when they come to your house. And you could defend our country instead of home land security.

I would love to see a social democracy some day where our elected congressmen and women would be elected on merit, not contributions. That would equalize everything. Obama will go down as the people’s president, and he’s making great strides, even outlawing certain lobbying practices that have kept the power in too few hands.

But these are just my opinions and I have a very open mind. If you believe that everything is fine the way it is, then that’s okay. I’ll let you talk to some of my friends who cannot make it regardless of how hard or how many hours they work. It’s really a myth that people are lazy - the fact is, they are held down by people who want every penny they make.  



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» left by Nancy Daniels ^(1,785)
Nancy Daniels (31 days 15 hours ago.)

E.

 

On one thing we definitely both agree. I also wish our government officials were elected on merit. If so, then they would need a clean slate and start from scratch. Is it possible for honesty and integrity in DC? The more I hear, the more I doubt it. Thanks for your comments.

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» left by Nancy Daniels ^(1,785)
Nancy Daniels (31 days 15 hours ago.)

E.,

 

I have to further add something here. What many of us have experienced here on the East Coast in regards to the DMV is nothing like what you enjoy in Texas. Of course, it could be that Texans are friendlier. Here in NJ, our poorly run DMVs were the problem, not as you say, self-centered people.   It has truly been a nightmare in the past. The fact that NJ is privatized is a blessing and the rates did not increase.  Doesn't get much better than that.

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» left by Dr Clarence Rucker, Jr from MI (35 days 13 hours ago.)

Nancy, I am sure it is a good article for some. Even myself, if we could depend upon the private sector to do its part in business. Usually in this country called the United States of America, the so-called Government does not get envolved in any business unless the rights of the people as a whole is being used. Such as, we missed Enron. A private, "Capitalism way of living and doing business entity" in USA. If you recall the last administration was going to get tough on "Corporate Greed." Of course you know the President himself was a big player in Enron and so was Haliburton (Cheney), well he never got around to it. As you recall, the President rushed to University of MI to stop the so-called guidelines for bringing in minorities to the school because we were now a color blind society. Uof M said we do not need a change. He did it anyway and before he got to the Corporate Greed, "TERRORISM, TERRORISM, TERRORISM. Then when his terms were up, monies were made but debts were never paid. Here we are under Capitalism. Since there were castrophies in the Capitalism system, this President said, "We cannot do this again." The Government (of the people, by the people, for the people) have to take a foothold to bring order out of "Chaos." Now, I say to you, since we the people are the Government, why are we against ourselves? If we cannot figure that out, then satan is having another banner day with fools. Biblically, fools are, "Senseless Ones." Barnum and Bailey says: "A fool is born every minute." Sometimes "Capitalism" work on that premise.

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» left by E. Raymond Rock ^(3,160)
E. Raymond Rock (35 days 13 hours ago.)

Hello Dr Clarence Rucker, Jr from MI! Good comment! People ARE waking up!

.............e

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» left by Ronyae ^(4,504)
Ronyae (35 days 11 hours ago.)

Second that!

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» left by Anonymous (35 days 4 hours ago.)

"Catastrophes." Sorry I Misspelled...Rushing to keep my thought!

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» left by Nancy Daniels ^(1,785)
Nancy Daniels (31 days 15 hours ago.)

Dr. Rucker,

 

I say keep government out of business and we all win. But thankfully, we still have our rights to express that! And thankfully, we are entitled to our own opinions.

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