Lawmakers Consider Audit As California DMV Tortures Us With Endless Waits: New at Reason

I often meet people who believe a magical thing called “government” can fix virtually anything. For example, many California officials want to replace the healthcare system with “single-payer,” which is another way of saying a system run by government. This column is designed to remind readers of how things work when “public-spirited” bureaucrats are in charge rather than “greedy” private folks who want to boost the bottom line.

There are far worse agencies than the Department of Motor Vehicles, but DMV remains the poster child for government inefficiency because we occasionally have to deal with it personally. The lessons it provides are enduring because DMVs seem impervious to change. No matter the decade, their field offices remain a cross between a bus station and a Soviet bread line.

But it’s hard to really fix government because the incentives are wrong, writes Steven Greenhut.

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