Last week I was driving along interstate 75 at rush hour. The traffic all came to a stop suddenly, and it took me nearly half an hour to travel the next two to three miles. I could have taken an alternate route if the highway message board had been updated more quickly, but the sign provided no warning about an accident.
When I finally arrived at the point of the accident, I saw that it had occurred on the other side of the highway. A pick-up truck had been wedged up against the concrete barrier separating the north and south bound lanes. The truck was carry some plastic totes that had various items of clothing and other small things. When the truck stopped quickly, a couple of the plastic totes flew over the barrier onto the left two lanes of the opposing traffic.
As the traffic approached the accident scene on our side of the highway, the cars and trucks were being wedged over to the right two lanes. A Cincinnati police cruiser was blocking the two left lanes, and there were also three or four motorcycle officers parked just beyond the cruiser. These five officers were standing around in the blocked lanes doing nothing. I certainly believe that I could have easily picked up the totes and the spilled items in five minutes by myself. They could have been tossed back over the barrier into the back of the wrecked pick-up.
Did these fine officers do anything to clean up the mess? No. They just blocked off half of the highway lanes and made all of us sit in traffic. Did they care that the folks were inconvenienced? They didn't seem to care at all. By the way, they are employed by us -- the tax payers. Could it be possible that these officers weren't allowed to clean up the mess? Did they have to wait on the public works union to send over a dump truck and some guys with brooms? Maybe it's not safe for police officers to risk using a broom or to put on gloves and pick up debris.
This illustrates the MessAPolitico that is typical of virtually every government agency I've ever dealt with. Does it remind you of all those trips you've made to the DMV to get your license plates renewed? Can you imagine having to wait in a long line at the grocery like they have every month at the DMV? What about the US Postal Service? At busy times, there are long lines. Unlike private mail and parcel carriers, the US Postal Service can't tell you when your package will arrive and certainly can't guarantee the day or time of delivery.
I'm a licensed professional engineer, and I have to deal with the state every two years to renew the license. To get this license, I had to get an engineering degree. Then I had to take two exams that were a joke compared to all of the tests I took and passed to graduate from college. I am licensed in only one state, although the same test is used in every state. Each state where I do work requires me to apply for a reciprocal license and pay each state a big fee. In Cincinnati, we are located in the corner of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. Engineers that do consulting work across the entire metropolitan area are required to maintain three engineering licenses to be legal. I was just looking at adding another state license, and the cost was over $450 initially. Then, every two years I have to pay another license renewal fee in each state of about $150. Has the state really protected anybody with this licensing process, considering that the test has such limited coverage of engineering subject matter and is the same in all three states? It's just a tax on me to allow me to do my job.
This is the MessAPolitico that we will soon have running the health care system in the United States. Need I say more?
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