SOUTH DAKOTA STRAIGHT TALK

The current so called license plate crisis is unfortunately another very visible public example that is fostering public opinion that our Government is Broken.

You wonder if the State cannot even license motor vehicles, how they can do anything. The purpose of this post is not to asses blame rather to focus on how we get the wheels back on the train and restore trust in what we call Government.

Public trust in government institutions has been lost through a series of high profile events. Headlined by the perception of the mismanagement of the War in Iraq (or perhaps our occupation of Iraq) was bungled (read hear Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld), the response to Hurricane Katrina, the unfortunate high profile disclosure of the conditions at Walter Reed Army Hospital the public has little confidence in Government.

Adding to people’s loss of Confidence are high gasoline and energy prices, eroding home values caused by the subprime mortgage meltdown and now the confirmed Bear Market on Wall Street.

As a consequence Congressional approval ratings are at an all time low about 9% and the President’s approval rating is hovering around 30%.

That is what makes State Government’s response to the license plate situation puzzling.

First changing to the new system did not just come as a surprise. From the time the new law was enacted the Bureaucrats knew what their task was and when the implementation date was. This was not a tornado, forest fire, or blizzard that just showed up and needed an emergency response. Other than the “State’s Computer System” is running slow, the cause of the problem is not known. Presumably it is programming and speculating -inadequate testing. No doubt the Department of Revenue will fix the problem - Hopefully very soon.

Minnehaha County Commissioners perhaps over reacting a little are calling this a State of Emergency. One wonders what they would call a tornado or flood.

There is no excuse for this but it seems to me that standing in lines and frustrations could have been avoided. Certainly Citizens wanting to pay for their car and truck tags and paying for their vehicle sales tax have every right to be frustrated if not mad. Even the Treasurer’s office staff has a right to be upset with an inadequate system. Of course it does not help matters that the Minnehaha County Treasurer, Pam Nelson is blaming Pierre.

The problem was first reported on July 1, ten days later it has not been resolved and there are still long lines.

Pierre reports they are working on the problem while Citizens are frustrated.

To put a temporary fix on the problem until a stable and functioning system is put in place, Governor Rounds needs to announce an Amnesty or Get out of Jail Free Card.

Whatever time limits are on getting license plates, renewing plates, paying sales tax, there should be a simple method or procedure that people can go to their County Treasurers office and have their documents or applications stamped (in effect get an excuse from the teacher) to return when Public Service Announcements have been made that a working system is in place.

Doing something to make government work might begin to restore trust in OUR government.