What's In a Name?

Changing my name to Suzanne Unger Young has been an interesting experience for more reasons than I expected. In addition to dealing with the strange limbo of not feeling 100% comfortable with either my old or new name, it's been fascinating to observe our government at work. I arrived at the Social Security office an hour before opening at the recommendation of a co-worker. It was a good call, as I turned out to be 8th in a line of about 50-60 people when the office finally opened. When my turn came, the SS worker explained that their computer system was running very slowly and that it would take a while to process my paperwork. I asked what that meant for the long line of folks behind me. She explained that those at the end of the line probably wouldn't be served until 4-5 hours later. I asked how often the computer system went on the fritz. She said at least a couple of times a month. I asked whether there was an IT person to help fix the situation. No, she explained, they don't get any computer support at their office. Given all the waste in government, couldn't we spare one IT person to help them out?

After my visit to Social Security, I didn't have high hopes for my trips to the North Carolina DMV. Then the strangest thing happened. My visit to get a new license took a total of 12 minutes. (Yes, I was geeky enough to time it.) And then my visit to change my tags/title took a total of 6 minutes. I was perplexed until a co-worker explained that the NC legislature recently contracted out the Charlotte and Triangle DMV offices to private companies. I've never given much thought to privatization of government, but now I'm eager to learn the pros and cons. Who knew changing my name would be so educational?