Do We Really Want More Things Run By the Government?



Honestly, do we really think the government can run healthcare at all? I know I don't believe it can. I've had too much experience dealing with government run entities lately.

We've been working toward getting our oldest ready for testing for her driver's license. We were shooting for early October, until a friend pointed out that a new law taking effect on October 1 would require that our daughter wait 9 months from the time she obtained her permit until she could test for the provisional license. This would mean she cannot test until January 9th. I decided I would call the MVA and get a clarification of the new law. For three days all I got was a busy signal. When I finally got through, 3/4 of the instructions were in Spanish and then I was hung up on. I got through a second time and was finally able to speak with a live person. She did confirm that any new driver that had obtained their permit after April 1 would have to wait the 9 months. Can anyone explain to me why the law takes effect this October but affects folks beginning from last April ? It really makes absolutely no sense to me.

Karate Kid is also prepping to take the PSAT in October. I spent four days placing calls and leaving messages with different departments of two different public high schools trying to figure out the process for registering. Of course, no one returned my calls, and I was repeatedly re-directed, to no avail. I finally got in touch with someone I hope knew something about what I needed to do, and of course, she let me know that the front office had this same information all along. The front office was the biggest culprit of re-direction and misinformation.

Obviously, these examples are run by state and local governmental agencies. Can you imagine what healthcare run by national government will be like? Calgon, take me away!

Comments

Walter said…
Hey Mau,

I'm looking forward to government run ObamaExfoliation treatements. Because nothing will pull your hair out more than government run anything. Orrr how about Obamabread...government run banana bread (just like his ideas so far) chock full of nuts (also like congress).

Love ya Mau

Your Bro
Sarah - Kala said…
This post reminds me I need to research how soon SB can get his permit in HI. Hmmmm. Fun stuff ahead!!!
Teresa said…
The new driving law can affect those who have had their permit since April because anyone holding a learner's permit on or after October 1st is affected by the new law. If she tests and passes before Oct 1, she won't be affected by the law at all.

I'm in favor of this law, personally. The longer teenagers are forced to practice before they are let loose on the roads, the better (within limits, obviously).
What aggravates me is the driver's ed requirement. Total waste of two weeks and $300.
Maurisa said…
Teresa,

Karate Kid is not eligible to take her licensing test until October 9th, so the law does affect her. While I do not have a beef with the law itself, I do have one with how the law was worded. It is confusing. Confusing enough to lead her drivers ed instructors to tell her the new law would not affect her. Confusing enough that it had to have an asterisk to explain it. Confusing enough that I had to waste some of my own valuable time making phone calls to get clarification. My complaint had to do with the MVA itself.

I completely agree with you on having teens practice more before getting their licenses, but this new law only made the waiting period longer and did not require any additional hours of practice. They still only need 60 hours.

Sorry you had such a poor experience with driver's ed. Karate Kid got quite a lot out of it herself. Maybe your younger sister should consider taking her classes down by us, when she comes of age.

Blessings!
Teresa said…
Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you had a problem with the law itself. The MVA sure is annoying!

Well, the plus of the driving school we went to is that it's bicycling distance, but given how dreadful it was, I think that Monica on down will most likely go somewhere else.

That said, I do think that driver's ed should not be mandatory. I think it should be available for those who want to take it, but given that it has no significant effect on teenage driving safety, making it mandatory seems like making sex ed mandatory--it makes you feel like you're taking care of today's teenagers when you're not actually making a difference at all. The other option would be to totally revamp the requirements so that it was impossible to take a certified course without benefiting from it. (And if driver's ed is mandatory, it should be made available for free to people who aren't eligible to take it as a class through a high school. But that's a whole different issue.)
Kristi said…
I like your ObamaCare GM comparison sticker. very cute!

Popular Posts