Real ID and Government Inefficiency

 By Mildred Robertson

While the Department of Government Efficiency is a joke, government inefficiency is a very real problem. Having recently renewed my driver's license at the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles I can attest that this agency lacks the effective, efficient protocols and procedures to provide well-organized services to the citizens they are hired to assist. A rush on this agency fueled by the May 7, 2025, deadline to acquire a "REAL ID" has resulted in lines of hundreds of people wrapped around the DMV offices across the state. 

In my case, my license was set to expire in August of 2025. That coupled with the Real ID deadline prompted me to search for an appointment back in April. The search, however, turned out to be futile. There were no appointments available anywhere near me. Even when I search surrounding towns in my county, I was still unable to schedule an appointment. So, I went to the DMV and stood in line for about 30 minutes, only to be told they were taking no more walk-ins. An office worker suggested that I try coming in between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. when walk-ins take priority. 

I heeded her suggestion and arrived a little before 8 a.m. on May 6. When I arrived, there were about 75-100 people in front of me. Some had apparently been there before because they came equipped with folding chairs and umbrellas, ready for the long haul. I was not ready for the upcoming ordeal, which lasted from 8 a.m. in the morning, until after 2:00 in the afternoon. I spent 4 hours standing in the hot sun and then another hour inside the building, which at least had air conditioning, chairs and a bathroom. There were numerous times I considered giving up and trying another time. But logic told me I would just be postponing the inevitable and so I decided to stay my course. 

While some of the workers were discourteous to the patrons, there were some patrons who were pretty rude as well. My personal experience was okay, since the person who finally helped me secure my license was polite and courteous. I left feeling both accomplished and frustrated. 

There is no reason for a required government service to be so difficult to attain. I am retired, so I had a half-day to contribute toward acquiring the mandatory document. But as I stood in the line, I saw elderly and infirmed people struggling to get through the process. There were mothers with young children in tow who had to suffer through the insufferable wait as their children fidgeted. Many folks who probably had to use personal time from work languished right alongside the rest of us.  

As DOGE decimates government agencies across the country, removing essential personnel and destroying agencies needed to provide services to the citizens, perhaps it will be more well perceived if it focused on these types of service areas that clearly need reform. 

We need doctors to continue to research cancer treatments and to try to prepare for the next pandemic. America needs for well-trained generals to continue to lead the armed forces. It is imperative folks involved in world outreach continue to make America a valued world citizen by providing service to those less fortunate than us. We need the FBI, the CIA and other law enforcement entities to have well-trained staff who protect and serve us. So, DOGE (if it exists at all) needs to focus less on partisan revenge tours and instead focus on correcting true government inefficiencies. 

The moral of the story is, I should be able to vote in the future without incident. I can now board a plane or gain access to a government building. I am glad about that, but it should not be this hard. I wonder how many will be left out of significant parts of our society because they cannot get access to needed documentation. 

That is not democracy, and it is not effective governance. We need to figure out how to fix it. Our representatives in Washington D.C. need to turn away from partisan politics and focus on fixing inefficiencies which negatively affect their constituents.