Tuesday, January 14, 2025
I love the state of Texas. I am proud to live here, proud to be a part of a vibrant, friendly community, and proud to do my part to maintain Texas traditions and customs.
I have never been ashamed to introduce myself and declare “I am Sam Houston from Texas.” It is a great source of pride and my self image.
When traveling in Europe and asked where I was from, I would always say, “Texas.” No matter where I was, people knew of the place I called home. The name Texas required no further explanation. I did have someone ask me why I said I was from Texas instead of the United States and I coyly responded that we Texans did graciously agree to let the United States join us, but that my home was Texas. Texas first, Texas last and Texas everything in between.
This is why it pains me so much to criticize most anything to do with Texas, but sometimes situations call for comment. The relationship between Texans, their cars, and the state, has got to change. Mind you there are more than 22 million registered vehicles in Texas and more than 19 million registered drivers. No question this is a lot to keep track of, monitor and regulate. At the same time, the situation has become almost laughable.
This past week a fellow I work with needed to renew his driver's license. He was advised he needed an appointment to renew, so he called the local bureau and was advised he would need an appointment. He told the bureaucrat that would be fine but was shocked to learn the next date available was some six or seven weeks hence. He was told he needed to bring a copy of his birth certificate in order to renew. It can only be assumed the birth certificate is to establish that the person getting the license is in fact, who they say they are. Between illegal immigrants and the threat of terrorists, proof of who you are seems like a reasonable request, so my friend started digging through his legal papers to find a copy of the document which proves who he is. Unfortunately, he could not find his copy, so he had to go to the state and request a duplicate copy of his certificate. When he called the state, they wanted to see his driver's license to establish that he is the same person as the person on the birth certificate. So, the birth certificate establishes the ability to get a driver’s license, as long as you have a driver’s license to get a birth certificate? Does that sound like one big bureaucratic circle or what?
My car and my wife’s car both need to be registered in the month of December. I have the check made out and ready, but I am required by law to have my car inspected before it can be registered. New legislation mandates that effective in January, inspections are no longer required to register a vehicle.
To fulfill my legal obligation, I spent half a day Saturday driving from one place to another, trying to find someone to inspect my car. The first four places told me that they no longer had somebody approved to do inspections since the inspection requirement ends in 30 days. When I attempted again Monday, I was told the state computer system was down and nobody in the state had access to submit inspection results, so I would have to come back to have the inspection done.
Millions of cars, millions of people and the state collects millions of dollars in taxes from our vehicles. At the minimum, shouldn’t the state have a system that is convenient, fast and efficient for the taxpayer? The role of government should be to serve the people, not for the people to have to spend time, effort and money to pay the taxes due and satisfy the requirements set forth by law.
Sometimes I think politicians work at creating new programs when they should be looking at the programs in place and fix how inefficient and ineffective they are. Now there is a way to win some votes!
Thought for the day. The three great lies: the check is in the mail, I will always be true to you, and I am from the government and I am here to help you!
Until next time, I will keep ridin’ the storm out!
