If you pay taxes in the U.S., read this

Every year at tax time, or when I have an experience with a branch of government, I'm reminded of how much I hate government waste and incompetence.  It just so happens both are happening right now -- we filed an extension this year, so we're getting our tax info together now, and this morning I had a classic, ridiculous, completely illogical encounter with our very own Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) office in Kansas City, MO.  It was the proverbial straw that broke my Libertarian back.

Amy and I are working on our second international adoption.  Our son, Joe, was adopted from Guatemala.  We're working through the same international adoption agency -- Children's Hope International -- to adopt two children -- siblings -- from Colombia, South America.  We started the process two years ago, and what should have been a 15-month, start-to-finish-process, is turning into a 3-year wait.  It's primarily due to supply and demand in Colombia -- a lot of couples are waiting for kids.  But the extended wait creates other problems for us.

The entire adoption process hinges on paperwork -- tons of it.  One of the key documents is called an I-600.  It's an INS form that allows us to bring an "orphan" child from another country into the U.S. for adoption.  Applying for an I-600 requires a "home study (which is another long process in-and-of itself that asks more personal questions than you'll care to answer) and an FBI background check, which is accomplished via fingerprinting, which has to be done at an INS facility.  Our fingerprints for the I-600 "expire" after 14 months -- on August 14.  Never mind that we were fingerprinted as part of our home study by our local police department because we had to have a Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) background check as well.  So we need to get re-fingerprinted.

Now, the first time we were fingerprinted at INS, it was a two-day affair.  We made an appointment online, like we were supposed to.  Took off work, drove an hour to the facility, went through security, and then were told we'd have to come back the next day because they had too many people to fingerprint that day.

"But we have an appointment," we said.

"Our online appointment system was messed up," they said.  "Come back tomorrow."

So we did, paid our $70 per-person in fees, and got it done.  The money is a whole other issue!  I mean, seriously, we already have FBI and KBI files/background checks from Joe's adoption...but anyway, I digress.

We tried to make an appointment for our updated fingerprinting, but all the slots were full this week, and we have to go this week because we're on vacation next week, and then our fingerprints expire.  So we called our adoption agency local contact.  They told us to show up on WEDNESDAY to get it done -- Wednesday is the day for walk-ins. 

So we show up this morning and go to the fingerprinting window.

"You have to go to the front window to pay first before we can fingerprint you," the guy said.

"All the front windows are closed," we said.

"They're closed on Wednesdays," he said.

Strange look between Amy and me.

"You realize that's ridiculous," Amy told him.

"I'm sorry, we're just contractors -- we don't take money here.  You have to come back tomorrow and pay, then you'll get a receipt, and you bring it to me, and we'll fingerprint you," he said.

"But we re-arranged our schedules today, and we live an hour away -- is there anyway you can do it," we asked?

"No," he said.  He wasn't mean, but just matter of fact.  It was clear he had to repeat this speech many times before.

So we leave -- pissed.  Amy called our agency contact, and she told us we're supposed to get one FREE fingerprint renewal.

Awesome!  So we go back in, back through security (you can't take your phones inside the building, so we had to exit to make a call). 

Back at the fingerprint window..."Our agency said we are supposed to get a FREE fingerprint renewal," we say enthusiastically.  "Here's our receipt from the last fingerprinting, just to prove we did it last year."

"Yes, you get a free renewal, but you still have to go to the window to get a receipt that says you get it for free," he said.

Confused look between Amy and me.

"But we have a receipt from the last time -- clearly, we've done this before -- can't you just fingerprint us now."

"I'm sorry -- we're just contractors -- they have to do the paperwork at the window, and, you know..." he said.

"Why are they closed on Wednesdays?" we ask. 

"That's the day they're closed," he answered.

Of course.  Closed during the middle of the week.  A government agency office that serves the public with time-sensitive, life-impacting services.  That makes complete sense.

So we leave.  And we'll be going back tomorrow to go to the window, get our receipt that says we can get our fingerprints renewed for free, then walk 50 feet to the fingerprint window, which is contractor run, and spend 3 minutes getting it done, so we can go back when the I-600 expires and get it renewed so we don't lose our place in line for two kids somewhere in Colombia that we want to give a home to and love and raise to be good people that we've already been waiting on for two years.

The fingerprinting process -- which is about 1/10th of what we've had to endure for this adoption -- is so inefficient it's laughable.  That's what our taxes are paying for.  And that's just one tiny example.  Multiple this by the millions and millions of daily inefficiencies playing out all over the bloated monster that is our federal government.  And that's just the federal level!  Think about your state and municipality!  The next time you file your tax return, think about that.

So I've had it.  I'm making this pledge.  I will no longer support any candidate -- local, state or federal -- that has ever voted for a tax increase of any kind.  And if they're a first-time candidate, I won't support them unless they pledge not to raise taxes.  In other words, I'm looking for candidates that will pledge to CUT taxes -- to the bone.

I'm sending a link to this post to all my elected representatives -- local, state and federal -- and to several media sources, plus several online sources that I know will spread the word.  If you're reading this post, I ask you to do two things:

1.  Think hard before you cast your votes this Fall for Congress and President.

2.  Pass my post along, or link to it, if you agree with me.

Thanks for reading.

Comments

[Logan]

Of course, if you cut taxes to the bone, there will be even fewer people to man those windows on Wednesdays. To me, the issue isn't taxes per se, but incompetence. Government does provide essential services, just frequently doesn't do it well.

Of course, I've encountered plenty of inept corporate bureaucracies too. Insurance companies, for example.

[Amy (the wife)]

I agree, it's not about taxes, it's about incompetence. This agency has been poorly run for years and no one has ever bothered to fix it. Apparently, it is a low priority to our elected officials to ensure individuals hoping to become US citizens are treated with respect and professionalism.

The best post on Risley Ranch, of all time, no question. Amen, brother. And Logan, the Medicare and Medicaid bureaucracies are hardly better.

[Bob Zender]

Sorry, I didn't identify myself in the previous post. I hate that.

[Jeff Risley]

Thanks for the comments everyone. Logan, I have to disagree. Taxes/money are like crack, and politicians are junkies. I think there are plenty of competent people in government, but its become so bloated its caving in on itself, and that bloat is coming from the blank check Congress feels its been given in the last 50 years. I say the time is now for cutting the drug; force the junkies to become more efficient -- make them do more with less, just like we have to every day.

[Shane Norris]

I'm all for slimming spending and creating a sensible tax policy. But I also have this silly attachment to clean water and air, roads and bridges to get around on, public schooling, and people showing up if my house is being robbed or on fire.

If you actually look at the proposed tax policies from the two presidential candidates, you'll see that (1) is proposing to extend tax cuts to the super-rich and definately well off. (2) is proposing tax cuts to the middle/upper-middle class.

I would honestly urge each of you to go look at the policies, if you're voting for candidate (1), you better be makeing $250M plus or making a ton of money in capital gains.

[Shane Norris]

Another quick comment just because Medicare was brought up.  Medicare spends about 3% of its budget on bureaucracy/administration.  Private healthcare operations, however, spend between 20-30% on bureaucracy/administration and profit.  This fallacy that privatization = efficiency has been disproven over and over.

[Robin B]

Wow, Jeff, I can't imagine how frustrating that must be. We've been thinking about the possibility of international adoption as well, but this is almost enough to make me think twice. It could be much more efficient. So sorry to hear that. There has to be a way to improve! Thanks for the post.

[Mia]

OT Re. Medicare's admin expenses. From John Goodman's website (NCPA): "Recent papers suggest that Medicare administrative costs are similar to those in the private sector — even ignoring the fact that Medicare is not solvent. Overhead is not necessarily bad. It includes case management for patients with chronic conditions, health education expenses, fraud detection and customer service, areas in which Medicare is notoriously weak. In 2002, the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner determined that administrative expenses for companies filing annual statements with the state averaged 12.6 percent of overall revenues."

The point of quoting this is to point out that even though you may have heard the lie repeated over and over again it is still a lie.

[Logan]

So, Jeff, can I assume this year you'll be voting for Obama?

http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/jun2008/db20080611_220050.htm

[Logan]

RE: Mia's assertion about Medicare costs. I tracked down the report cited by the NCPA site. It actually validates that Medicare is more efficient than the private sector, perhaps not by a factor of ten, but a signifcant factor nonetheless. Quoting:

"Medicare’s actual administrative costs are 5.2 percent, when the hidden costs are
included.

In addition, the technical paper shows that average private sector administrative costs,
about 8.9 percent – and 16.7 percent"

So, it may not be 3% to 30%, but I'd take 5.2% vs. 8.9% - 16.7% any day.

And cost efficiency isn't the whole story, of course. If we talk about healthcare outcomes, most studies indicate that the private-sector-dominated US healthcare system lags well behind its counterparts with universal healthcare systems in terms of national health metrics.

So, I'm firmly in the camp that not all government spending is wasted, and not all taxes are evil. In fact, some of what we now do in the private sector could be better done in the public sector.

I know. It's a radical, socialist, pinko, commie, moonbat point of view.