I am well aware that Arnold Schwarzenegger made some really bizarre decisions that are now costing us dearly. Having said that though, there seems to be a general disconnect between government officials and the “real” world. Therefore, I thought I should share some of my every day challenges, living in the great state of California, specifically, in Los Angeles.

Yesterday, I decided to stop by the DMV to update my driver’s license; which for some reason I cannot do online. Calling the DMV is also pretty useless, by the time you’re actually reaching a live human being, you’re probably ready to go into retirement.
So, I stopped by the DMV and found a line going all the way around the building, with waiting times estimated at around 2 hours or more. This is the standard mode of business for all the DMV offices in my area.

Maybe senators, congressmen, governors and other politicians enjoy the freedom of preferred services of some kind, because no regular Joe Schmoe, who’d ever experienced the insanity called DMV, would actually come to the ingenious decision to shorten their operating hours and staff. I also don’t think it’s the government workers that make the big bucks here. If you guys in Sacramento want to cut spending, you should probably start with some of the state officials; not the social service people us common folk rely on. We should not have to take a day off work to get a simple address change done at the DMV; and btw, the DMV website is also pretty useless.

Another sore point for all of us Angelinos is the roads! Yes, I understand that back in the early 20th century the oil companies were powerful enough to buy out the public transportation system; but now we live in 2011! Los Angeles has the most ridiculous public transportation system I have ever encountered, and trust me, I’ve traveled!
We also have the second highest pollution rate, right behind China!! And what fun it is to travel on our roads, where the average commute is between 1 and 2 hours…for 30 miles! When it rains the s*** really hits the fan and it will take you about half hour to travel 1 mile. We spend more time in our cars than we want to and moving doesn’t work, because there is no such thing as a “close commute.” This is due to the fact that houses near any of the large companies are outrageously expensive; which leads to most of us having to commute anywhere from 30 to 50 miles one way!
On the bright side, the Metro Gold Line is going to be extended to my part of town; namely by the year 2021, which, to me, equals never.

While we are at it, I’d really appreciate reinstating tax breaks for hybrid cars and allowing us to drive in the car pool lane. It is already a pain in the neck to be stuck in traffic for hours every day, but for added pleasure I have to deal with SUVs who block my view and tend to drive as if the road and world belongs to them. I don’t care what cars people drive, but I do care about the fact that those of us who actually give a damn about our environment and attempt to bring the horrible smog and pollution ratings down, don’t even get rewarded anymore; unless you count the reward of the warm and fuzzy feeling I get every time I have to fill my gas tank up.

There are numerous other things I could think of that need to be improved, but being just an average type of person, I think the aforementioned items will suffice for now. I am sure all you folks up in Sacramento have much more important things to do than actually deal with the grievances of the common man (or woman), but to us, these things are not only frustrating, but greatly decrease our quality of life.

I would have moved a long time ago, would it not be for the fact that my house is worth half the value these days and cannot be sold, and my husband is bound to CA due to his profession. Hence, for the time being we are stuck here and would appreciate some help from the powers that be.

Sincerely,

Carmen Honacker

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