Today, I’m taking a detour from the depressing state of the nation in order to indulge in a very personal rant about the equally depressing performance of my state’s government.
How many times have we all heard some self-important “Captain of Industry” pontificate about running government like a business? And how often have we responded–calmly and logically–by explaining the multiple and substantial differences between government and business enterprises? When I am engaging in these discussions, however, I routinely add a statement to the effect that we do have a right to expect that government will be businesslike, meaning that government agencies should operate in an efficient and professional manner.
I don’t know what people in other states experience, but in Indiana those in charge of the various services we expect government to provide, services we rely upon, are clearly uninterested in either efficiency or professionalism. Our Governor, Lieutenant governor, Attorney General and legislative super-majority are far too engrossed with rewarding their donors and indulging their culture war obsessions to bother with effective administration of the various agencies with which Hoosiers are required to interact.
Permit me to offer a recent example.
A few weeks ago, someone stole my husband’s IPhone and wallet from his locker while he was working out. Anyone who has lost a wallet or had one stolen will immediately understand the nightmare that ensues–cancelling credit cards and getting replacements, figuring out how to get copies of medical insurance and Medicare cards…(we’re still waiting on the Medicare replacement, which we’re told takes some 30 days.)
And then, of course, there’s replacing the “Real ID” issued by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. (My husband stopped driving a few years ago, but still needs that “real ID” for travel.)
Welcome to the Indiana’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles web page, which hasn’t been updated in who knows how long, and which is demonstrably, wildly inaccurate. The BMV web page lists the locations of branches and self-service “kiosks” located in other buildings. My husband visited at least two of the listed kiosk locations, only to discover that they not only lacked the promised kiosks, but–according to building personnel–had never housed any such structures or anything similar.
The license branch that we have used over the past several years is still listed, with its operating hours. What the website neglects to mention, however, is that it was closed several months ago, when the BMV shuttered a number of locations.
After a couple of wasted visits, as we prepared to travel considerably farther, to a location that is presumably still in operation, I consulted the website to see what sort of documentation the BMV requires to confirm that my husband is both a citizen and a bona fide resident of the state of Indiana, and I discovered a list that was evidently assembled well before the Internet became pervasive and rather clearly hasn’t been reconsidered since.
He can use his passport to confirm identity and citizenship (which is good because I never heard of several of the other “acceptable” items listed). But the BMV wants a minimum of two “original documents” to demonstrate Hoosier residency. The site lists utility bills, bank statements and/or a variety of other bills and statements that people used to receive via the U.S. mail, but that most Americans now now receive virtually, via email or app. (The language on the site is very definite that only original documents are acceptable, so apparently, a printout of a digital statement or bill would not pass muster.)
In all fairness, once we had traveled 45 minutes to the now-nearest branch, the process was efficient and the employees helpful–much better than we’d expected, given the website and branch closures.
If all those Republicans who think government should be “run like a business” actually ran their businesses like this, they wouldn’t be in business very long.
I guess it’s too much to expect that someone in Indiana government might take a break from what they evidently believe are their primary duties: interfering with women’s reproduction, waging war on education, ferreting out that scandalous DEI, hassling Drag Queens, and keeping trans kids out of sports (I think statewide there are two of them)–and spend some time improving the performance of the agencies they are actually employed to manage.
But hey–this is Indiana, where voters regularly elect these culture warriors. Evidently, Hoosier voters don’t connect the dots between our seriously substandard public services and the Christian Nationalist theocrats they elect.
What? Your regulars are not racing to respond. Is that because they have no interest in our state and local situations? Or it cold be that local news is so inadequate that no one pays any attention. Hoosiers accept inferior service from government as they do from the private sector. We often complain about the condition of our streets, but what about the private sector parking lot potholes? Our state animal should be the Sloth, but it would be unkind to that diligent creature.
My driver’s license needed renewal recently, and like you, I went to the website for a phone number to call a branch near me. There are no numbers for local branches. So I called the toll free number. No human answers. I left a message for a call back to clarify what I needed to bring with me to renew my license and to ask whether or not I would need to take a written exam. No call was forthcoming in the 6 weeks I waited.
After assembling more identification than needed, I went to the local branch on Monday. It’s closed on Mondays. I went back Tuesday. The branch was very full of customers that morning. I had to wait about an hour, but when my number finally was called, the staff was very efficient and quick.
The old driver’s license was showed a color photo. The new license is in black and white and took a week to be mailed to me. My old license was in color, and if I recall correctly, it was produced and given me before I left the branch.
Your experience was much like my own. The local staff were efficient and helpful. But state management and the state website need serious upgrading.
Wow; I was fortunate to have a family member know where my nearest BMV office was located when I mentioned heading to the obsolete office. I was attacked, permanently injured and robbed on my own driveway at 11:00 in the morning as the long-timers on here know. That was April 21, 2014; it took till the end of August to see the final replacement of stolen documents to appear. I got my Real ID three years ago; I took the only copy of my birth certificate I had, it was the original 8 X 11 size, heavy paper with the official gold seal of the State of Indiana. BMV employees had to gather in a group and have the manager approve accepting the document.
Indiana’s Public Employee Retirement Fund (PERF) has been stuck in the Indiana Republican Legislature the past few years. In November 2017 we were notified our check disbursement was being transferred to State Street Bank Retiree Services in New York City and IF WE WANTED TO CONTINUE RECEIVING OUR RETIREMENT WE HAD TO REENROLL WITH THAT BANK. Last year they moved our check disbursement to another New York City Bank but while with State Street Bank we saw the beginning of problems and lowering of annual retirement amounts a little at a time. The problems continue in Indiana’s Republican Legislature and we are being shorted again on our 13th Check (sort of an annual bonus, received for years rather than COLA) but continuing that check was approved only for 2025. The 2% amount of paychecks into PERF has always been a disguised donation to the Republican party, refusal meant immediate loss of jobs. In the 1960s my mother worked for the State of Indiana and her 2% was deducted from her paycheck, in the 1970s when I began working in City government we were required to stand in line and pay our 2% in cash by the end of each payday. The majority of the recipients of Indiana government workers are Republicans; they are reaming their own party members through retirement.
“But hey–this is Indiana, where voters regularly elect these culture warriors. Evidently, Hoosier voters don’t connect the dots between our seriously substandard public services and the Christian Nationalist theocrats they elect.But hey–this is Indiana, where voters regularly elect these culture warriors. Evidently, Hoosier voters don’t connect the dots between our seriously substandard public services and the Christian Nationalist theocrats they elect.”
The regulars here in Indianapolis are old enough and wise enough to know that the situation in this state is hopeless. Really hopeless. Why waste another minute trying to reform a government that the majority in the state believe is just fine and dandy? Even in Democrat majority Indianapolis we are not able to govern effectively enough to give the citizens safe and pothole free streets, much less a mayor’s office free of scandal.
So your experience at the DMV was fine, the lack of detail on the website was substandard.
Imagine if one has no access to the internet.
So your conclusion is the BMV is broken because of a bad and outdated interface on its website?
Indiana is backward and likely will remain so. I am reasonably sure the oligarchy prefers it that way because they have to spend little money greasing the officials in this state or spend massive amounts of money on misleading ads to convince Hoosiers that any progressive idea comes from Satan.
I’ve discussed the antiquated computer systems in this state before. Our local government is still using DOS-based software programs from the 80s. Like Sheila said, if a local business used that kind of operating system, they’d be out of business.
There is, however, no comparison between the business world and our government, except perhaps in the customer service component. Our government is socialized, while business relies on capitalism. Because we are an oligarchy, the socialist element of government benefits the oligarchy more than the citizens.
If Trump’s Big Turn in Congress gets passed, the Indiana government will be in dire straits. The amount of scapegoating will be incredible, as rural Indiana will suffer the most. When hospitals start closing or consolidating, and they have to drive hours to the nearest hospital, who will these Republican voters blame?
Hoosiers need to be screaming now at the Congressional Reps to kill that turd since Todd Young and Jim Banks voted YAY. When you see them dodge interviews about their votes, you know they’re busted for lying. Our Ukrainian-born Congresswoman preaches to Hoosiers about the deficit, but she voted for this Turd once, so now she has a second chance to do the right thing. Unfortunately, she’s just as big a liar as the rest of our Reps. When the shit hits the fan, we’ll get to see the highest levels of gaslighting this state has witnessed.
p.s. I always make an online appointment with the BMV and usually get in and out in 15 minutes flat. 🙂 I strongly recommend making an appointment.
So sorry about your husband’s loss and all the hassles — been there, and it’s not fun!
I’d like to call attention to the fact that this kind of theft from lockers in sports/workout facilities seems to be a real problem. Thieves have even been known to cut through heavy padlocks. I read enough about the issue to decide not to leave any valuables in lockers (just left them at home and carried my driver’s license in my pocket). Hope this info will help someone else in the future.
I’m not sure which is worse, an inept Christian Nationalist state government or an effective Christian Nationalist one. You have trouble getting service because Indiana hasn’t taken the time or the money to update their online systems. Whereas down here in sunny southwest Florida, we have updated websites filled with information rational people find to be more suited to the robber baron years.
We have no fluoride in the water, statewide. We don’t believe in climate change. We have developed so much of the habitat that black bears must be hunted and panthers are on the edge of extinction again. We don’t have problems with ICE because the state REQUIRES every governmental unit to “assist” in the apprehension of the criminal fruit pickers in our midst. And don’t even get me started about our institutions of higher learning, all run by political hacks, with the trustees drawn from a roster that features current and former state legislators.
On the other hand, it is warm and sunny and we do have the Gulf of “Amexico” to get a shark bite in.
“Companies and individuals can buy your data from the BMV — the practice is legal, and the state doesn’t have to tell you they’re doing it. The state of Indiana brought in $25 million in 2024 from selling driver data. It spends the money on everything from paying BMV employees and branch leases to upgrading technology.May 12, 2025…WTHR
Apparently, most of the money is not spent on technology upgrades.
Closing branches is just another way of controlling voter access. You must present a state issued pictured ID in order to vote. By closing branches without disclosing those closures, the state has placed yet another obstacle in the way for those have limited mobility whether that means no vehicle, unable to drive for any reason or limited access to dependable online services, especially the minority poor. States like Alabama closed branches in poor, mostly black areas of the state for that very purpose.
In Indianapolis/Marion County, we hear lots of complaints about potholes but seldom do those who complain actually report those potholes. With over 8000 lane miles but only funded by centerline at 3800, the DPW does not have enough employees to survey every one of those miles. Compare that to Hamilton County with just under 3000 lane miles but funded the same way, by center line rather than lane miles, and you see how the city, mostly blue, gets treated to the same tactics that the gerrymandered super-majority GOP legislature has used for over 2 decades to prove that the Dems are incompetent to rule. Underfund the services to insure that they cannot handle the needed work, declare it broken and privatize those services to enrich their donors. This strategy plays out at the local, state and federal level and has for years.
Running the government like a business means profit. The cost of doing business, the overhead necessary to stay in business, gets paid for by the taxpayer, while the profits go to the private owners.
Cutting Medicaid will do the same for the hospitals and nursing homes. Indiana already has 17 counties without a hospital. Add to that the 12 likely to close if the BBB passes and almost 1/3 of the 92 counties will be without one. Nursing homes that depend on that funding will close. The residents who require 24 hour nursing care will be hospitalized, or not. Perhaps they will die anyway or just get over it. In the meantime, all of those medical personnel will go elsewhere to work.
If that isn’t bad enough the governor has pulled access to a suicide prevention program in favor of direct services, whatever that means, a move that will affect veterans. Indiana has one of the highest rates in suicide among veterans in the country. Add to that, Braun has privatized Adult Protective Services, so any assets held by those adults will be easy prey for profiteers.
Ain’t Indiana grand!
How very special??!!
And, in Florididia, we have seen the development of “Alligator Alcatraz” within a wonderfully short time, as DeSchmuckness and OJ had an opportunity to hang out together for the cameras, the other day.
Here, now, the “Gulf of America” is official!!!!!!!
that real I.D. really? i possess a TWIC card, a FBI fingreprint, life time background check, and gee i can even get into nuclear AF Bases with my
background to haul stuff for the military,I even hauled into los alamos…I have a POB since rural living dictates that when your gone for a few days, the wind likes to open those boxes and allow the mail to deliver itself to un known places. since encountering the real I.D. heres the beef, no one on our mailing list was able to add my physical address, due their app in watever world they got it from. My wife had all the utilities in her name since 2000 since i was away doin that truckin thing. hense, i finally got that real I.D. simple, i got a new dumpster and had the company put both addresses on the bill. walla, im now certified to fly or whatever.. My TWIC card had no bearing on getting the real i.d. really, a full fbi background and finger printing every 5 years to retain my cert to enter docks, airport and rail restricted areas around the U.S, but it wont allow me to I.D, thru this real I.D. sleep well..
Ian, In any endeavor good communication is key, so an out of date website is just sloppy and unprofessional. I can understand a small business having a things out of date, because the expertise to update the website is often outsourced. But, for an organization that has an IT department, that is just negligent.
I recently had to renew my Driver’s License. Yes, the rules for verifying residence haven’t been updated in several years. I went ahead and printed out PDF versions of bills that had company logos on them. I did not have originals, and have not had for several years. I didn’t have any choice, but I also didn’t have any problems.
I got an email from the Indiana Department of Revnue yesterday. It claimed I had an “Important Message”. After looking at the links and the independently accessing the Indiana DOR website via Google searches, i determined the email was actually legitimate and from the IN DOR. This took about 15 minutes. However, the last time I accessed the IN DOR website was sometime in 2017, so I wasn’t sure I had the correct username. I figured out what that was and then I had to figure out the password. All of that’s took another 20 minutes. I finally got logged onto the DOR website and it turns out the message was a graph of the percentage break down of how Indiana income tax dollars are spent. There was no personal information in the “Important Message”. If they were going to SPAM me, they could have found a better way to do it, or at least one that won’t waste my time. And unfortunaly, the next time I get an “Important Message” from IN DOR, I’ll wait until they send me something in to mail to see if really is “Important”.
Mitch:
did the U.K. maritime varify this?
I don’t believe she said the BMV was broken; it is the process that is flawed. Updating websites to reflect the documents we actually have access to in 2025 is a reasonable request. To ignore the need is bad business.
(And I’m sorry, Sheila, you and your husband had to navigate that labyrinth. It’s exhausting when something should be transparent.)
You can print a copy of your DL on BMV website and then request for a replacement copy to be sent. in.gov/bmv/
You can get a copy of your
Medicare card on the SS website and also request a copy be sent.
Any bill you pay online you can print a PDF of the actual bill so you have a hard copy – like one you would receive in the mail.
I’ve have done all of the above either for an aging parent or myself.
WOW – I didn’t think there was any crime in
downtown Indianapolis!
Happy 4th of July weekend 🇺🇸
Right now as a disabled person I have excruciating back pain and high anxiety. I don’t know how I will go back to my seasonal job I have had this fall that requires lifting, bending, and a calm person that can focus. I heard that Medicaid/Medicare in Indiana is going to require disabled people to work. How can I work? I am tired of dealing with people that don’t understand my everyday life and treat me like I’m a liar that’s faking it. Like I am getting some advantage they should be jealous of. They act like your on some daily tropical beach vacation with a margarita in your hand and not a worry in the world.
Yep, love the BMV.
Close the branch, but leave the sign on the outside of the building (to expensive to pay a sign company to remove it) and don’t post a sign saying where they have moved.
Finally figure out where the new branch is located. Go there and the new sign on the outside of the building says “Open 24 Hours” so I go in and find out that there is a kiosk there that is open 24 hours, but all it can do is take your money. Personal service is only open Tuesday – Saturday during ordinary day hours.
But once I got inside, the service was exemplary, except for having to wait two weeks for the new drivers license to arrive by US Snail.
I saw information to save travel and time to renew drivers license here; at the end of the instructions it added that you still needed an eye exam result to obtain your renewed license. A recent medical eye exam diagnosis will be accepted or you are required to go to BMV for an eye exam.
My driver’s license was due for renewal the first year Indiana started printing them so I collected the necessary documents and went to the local BMV branch. The employee that called me to the counter rudely told me that I needed more documentation. I told her that I brought in the exact number and forms of required documentation listed on the post cards the BMV sent to us about the Real ID, so I asked to speak with the branch manager. She agreed with her employee and refused to accept my documents so I went home and looked up the phone number for the State’s BMV leader. He answered his phone and I explained my dilemma to him. He said I correctly understood what documents were required and that branch personnel had been thoroughly trained about the Real IDs. He told me that his assistant would call the branch manager and explain to her that not only were they incorrect, but they were now going to be required to waste more time on training. He also said that his assistant would call me back after she spoke with the local branch manager to let me know that I could return there and they would accept my documents. The local branch wasted several hours of my time due to their arrogance and ignorance. It is extremely aggravating to have to deal with government employees that know less about their job and responsibilities than I and the rest of the public know.
Several years ago I decided that my time is far too valuable to be wasted by ignorant government employees that don’t understand their jobs. This goes for both local and state level employees. If more people refused to put up with the lazy BS and contact the people at the top they all might take their jobs more seriously.
Here is a tip for how to find out who to contact at the state level: Many departments on the state website list organizational charts that list management employees along with their job titles. Once you know who you need to contact you can go to the state’s transparency website to look up that employee’s phone number and email address. If the department you need doesn’t have an organizational chart listed you can still hunt for people on the transparency website by department. A bonus is that you can also find out what their salaries are. I didn’t like Mitch Daniels as Gov, but he ordered this type of state government transparency and it has saved me a lot of time and frustration over the years.
Here is a question for Sheila or anyone else that might know the answer:
When was it decided that Indiana county government offices and their employees would only need to work 7 hours a day / 35 hours per week to be considered fulltime?
When the salary amounts for my county’s employees are divided out by 1820 hours ( 35 hrs x 52 wks) their hourly pay is much higher than they could earn at any other office jobs in this county. They also receive actual vacation and actual sick days, in addition to 14 paid holidays/year. Once women obtain a job at our county courthouse/judicial center they stay for life because they know they could not get anywhere near the pay and benefits in the private sector.
For decades now, reds have been taught to despise and fear the 40% of our mixed economy that starts with ‘s’.
Why? Joe McCarthy told them to because, way back then, the Big C experiment in the USSR was treacherous.
Of course, Capitalism has never existed in any setting without its other half, Socialism. Both need competent management.
Trump need not apply for either kind of management because he is and has always been an overzealous NYC conman.
COMMENTS ARE ALWAYS WORTH READING AT THE LEAST
Pete, speaking of Trump being a NYC conman, Donny is threatening to deport Zohran Mamdani after he won the NY Democratic primary. Of course, he’s not a socialist, he’s a “commie” in Trump’s eyes, and Trump has also threatened to strip him of his title as governor should he win in November. Trump said, “I have the upper hand and will step in to run my beautiful city.”
Both oligarch-owned parties are having a meltdown right now because a democratic socialist will be running the largest and most diverse city in the world, and voters love him! The more the GOP squawks, the better it will be for voter turnout by young people to rally behind Mamdani. The poor Democrats don’t know what to do. LOL
Wait until some of his policies are implemented in NYC. 😉
I think the BMV/DMV is bad in every state–the Real ID, I had to go twice as nowhere on the TN website did not mention I needed to bring in my marriage license to show when I took on my married name. Thank heavens I have not been divorced or married again—the women who have been divorced have to get official decrees– I told my dtr as most of my friends have told our dtrs—do not change your name when you get married; it has become a gov’t hassle. Keep your maiden name.
FYI–the documents I had was birth certificate, SSN, 2 bills, a W2, my current drivers license that was issued 6 months earlier (they were not offering Real ID at the time) and I sat for 4 hours waiting for my name. Here–the line starts at 530am for the 8am opening of the BMV
When I moved back to Indiana from Florida there was a BMV branch downtown near the C-C Building where I worked; I needed drivers license, vehicle registration and license plate. Lines were long and we were locked in the building, I went through the drivers license line, filled application and paid for that, was then escorted out of the building and the door was locked behind me. Had to get back in line outside the building till room enough for me to reenter; fortunately I could accomplish license plate and registration in one line. While waiting, the friend who had gone with me to renew her license had her purse snatched; much yelling, screaming and confusion and the thief was easily nabbed by security in the locked building. They asked my friend if she wanted to go with them to Police Department to file charges and she refused, rather than going through the lines and being lock in and locked out of BMV. Police picked up the purse snatcher, probably to just release him.
A few years later my son called at work; he had come downtown to replace his lost drivers license; was refused because he lived in Marion County and was born in Johnson County, wanted to know how to get his Johnson County birth certificate. I told him to call me back in about 30 minutes; I made a few phone calls from my office in C-C Building, luckily found the right person, explained the ridiculous situation and which BMV office my son had gone to. They said to send my son back to the same BMV office, not to wait in line but go to the desk and give them his name. Someone was waiting for him and he was allowed to apply for his new license.
BMV employees here used to be the butt of much earned jokes for years. the change from due date for drivers license being the last day of your birth month (which everyone waited for to apply), the change to renewal by your birth date greatly eased the burden of long lines and wasted time waiting for a 10 minute process.
OK, another mea culpa, regarding my son’s adventures at BMV. He had his Johnson County birth certificate and they wanted something with his Marion County address on it in his name. He lived with me and everything was in my name. Sorry!
This is a sorry day; the day before Independence Day and we just lost almost all independence, freedoms and rights to the billionaire owned MAGA party. Hakeem tried his best but greed now has all of the power. What do we celebrate tomorrow on July 4th, will there be fireworks and picnics and ballgames in the memory of Independence Day?