California Could Save 50 Million a Year by Reforming the DMV

California has chosen not to go forward with the biometric facial recognition software required by the federal REAL ID Act of 2005. That will save the California Department of Motor Vehicles 4.5 million dollars in this fiscal year and an estimated 25 million dollars every year thereafter. Though the District of Columbia Department of Motor Vehicles is moving forward on biometrics, it offered a savings plan to offset REAL ID costs. California could apply these reforms and double the 25 million per year in savings. The D.C. reforms illustrate the opportunity citizens of California have to both save money and improve their life-styles.

The District of Columbia’s DMV is moving ahead with what many consider to be what President Reagan coined a "mark of the beast" national ID. Even though the national I.D. idea Reagan referred to was suggested in conjunction with a tattoo, the invasion of personal privacy biometric I.D.’s represent would be almost has horrible. However, the D.C. DMV's 09 Budget saved money for its change to facial recognition software and the computer indexed biometric photo’s of its citizens. The choices D.C. made in order to generate the savings are changes California’s D.M.V. could easily implement. If, like the District of Columbia, California changed the license expiration period from five years to eight years and allowed the registration fees to reflect a seven years value rather than five, California could “save” millions.

Although the logic of raising the fees while reducing the service is very typical of government, many taxpayers would happily agree to pay the same amount of money per year for an extra two years simply to avoid contact with the DMV of California. To reduce costs, the D.C. DMV extended inspections (which include smog tests in California) on new cars from a two year to a four year window. This extended window was supported by the E.P.A (p.3). California liberals, though, consider themselves special. They have managed to get special gasoline for California cars, and special emission protections especially designed for California, and of course, they have an especially strict smog testing requirement. California is also special by being a byword for impossible budget impasse. In other words, only the federal government is more impossibly in debt than California. We in California are proud to admit that we are more red than the Red Chinese. Sadly, we are more in the red than the Reds.

Nevertheless, even those that are very sensitive to carbon footprints must admit that a registration inspection on a new car is probably not necessary for at least three years. California has no such exemption for out of state vehicles.

The D.C. DMV hopes to generate enough savings from these measures to pay for its transition to facial recognition software, and although the cost of the facial recognition software per capita is difficult to compute, perhaps it is still safe to say that if California enacted the D.C. DMV reforms, a savings of 25 million per year would be a conservative estimate. Saving 25 million per year by not going with facial recognition software and then using the D.C. DMV proposals to reduce expenditure's another 25 million totals a tidy 50 million per year.

There is a larger principle behind such reforms of the California D.M.V. that that can save Californians the millions and millions more: California can no longer afford to needlessly pester its citizens. There are certain "services" provided by government that are odious to the majority of California's citizens. These should be ended now. Is a thumb print really necessary in applying for a commercial license? It wasn't before 1997. Is a ten-year history really needed for renewing a commercial driver's license? Aren't a social security number and a photograph enough to check for recent drunk driving and traffic violations? Aren't those violations already part of the applicant's records as "points" against his license? How much money can be saved by reducing these regulations? It is plain that a background check can be run without a thumb print. It is plain that the thumb print is "needed" to guard against crimes one might commit in the future.

The regulations that are a boondoggle to business in California cost money. Cut the regulations to save money and encourage economic growth.

After the most egregious bureaucratic infringements on personal liberties are expunged from California's Department of Motor Vehicles, consideration should be given to increasing fees for superior service. For instance, in any given year, budget shortfall or no, complaints of four hour Kafkaesque waits for the simplest services can be heard. Surely, as furloughs and full time positions are reduced, this will again be the case. Perhaps citizens would be willing to pay for an appointment on days that are "furloughed."

Why should a doctor who could bill at least $200.00 an hour spend nearly $1,000 of his time waiting in a line! Instead, he could be helping reduce another long line, the line of seriously needy patients waiting in an emergency room for treatment. Perhaps, the MD would be willing to part with a tenth of this wasted salary for an appointment on a furlough day? Let the tables be turned: three MD's per hour ought to make opening the DMV with it priceless services possible after all.

Departments of California's government that provide services, like the DMV, ought to be self-supporting. Greater transparency should also be required. For instance, how much does each driver's license driving test and knowledge test cost the taxpayer? Such information is vital to evaluating DMV services and practices. For instance, driving a car is so often connected to earning a living that the initial tests offered by the DMV are included in the small fees for a learning permit and license; however, how many times should citizens be allowed to fail these tests without additional fees? The D.C. DMV proposed savings by limiting the number of written tests (knowledge tests) to three per year. Perhaps it is better to have an increasing fee for each written and driving test an individual fails. Without a clear and transparent accounting for the costs of each DMV service such savings are difficult to evaluate.

Reforming the U.C. System: Saving 170 Million Dollars

California funding for U.C. research projects is $675 million dollars a year. Even as the state budget has collapsed, the spending of real U.C. research dollars has increased. Much of this "research" shows little evidence of fiscal or moral profit for the citizens of California. War with this behemoth could save CAL Grant aide for California's students. This is a prize fight worthy of the governor's most Herculean efforts.

In an age in which Six Flags Magic Mountain seeks bankruptcy protection and California is already twenty billion in debt, the U.C. research budget should be pared back to its historic roots. The proposed 2009-2010 U.C. research budget was $653,045,000 (item #10). This is an increase (in a year of real cuts) of ten million dollars over the estimated 2008-2009 expenditures. A conservative goal for real streamlining would be to reduce spending by 10% from the 08-09 heights. That would be 65 million dollars in taxpayer savings. Hence, even conservative cuts in the U.C. research expenditures would result enough savings to keep the Parks and Recreation funding in place for 2009-2010 (70 million dollars, see a May proposal–p.2). In fact, some of the research grants seem to be little more than a taxpayer sponsored study of a day in the park. Consider, for instance, The Studies of Food and the Body Multi Campus Research Group, that "brings together faculty and graduate-student scholars in the humanities and social sciences …who are exploring the relationship between food, the body and culture." I hear they even serve wine.

Whatever the relative merits of an increased awareness of food, body, and culture by the smartest people in California, the elimination of less critical research may, in turn, focus some of the mostly highly trained research minds in the state to more immediate issues. Though, in real dollars, the state funding for U.C. research increased in 2008, the legislature reduced the growth in all "line item research projects" by 10% (page 67 column b). Obviously, if a 10% reduction resulted in a ten million dollar increase in funding, at the very least the legislature must reduce the 09-10 "line item research projects" by more than 20%.

However, Governor Schwarzenegger plainly feels that the time for conservative budget cuts has passed. Is it possible to generate the $170 million in savings the Governor seeks through the elimination of Cal Grants (page 12) simply by streamlining the U.C. research budget? The list of multi-campus research programs reveals that the dead weight in U.C. research funding is considerable. Instead of seeking across the board cuts, the legislature and the governor should evaluate every U.C. research project and seek to terminate each one. The list of recommendations for project terminations should be part of the rationale presented to the U.C. when the total dollar amounts of U.C. research savings is sent to the governor. This emergency invasion into the province of the Board of Regents should be done with clearly articulated and legislated principles.

The first principle should be that, since all acknowledge that the historic charter of the U.C. system in California, including its research, has been the envy of the free world: all research should be conducted according to the U.C.’s own historic models. According to this principle new research programs, programs begun since 2005, that are not directly related to breakthroughs in math, science or medicine should be completely eliminated. All research programs begun after 2,000 that are not related to math, science, or medicine, should be evaluated according to their specific contributions to the wealth of the citizens of California. For instance, did the study of ancient cultures make new archeological finds in which Californians received benefits? A cost benefit analysis of the research program should then be done. The profitable research programs (if there are any) should continue and/or the least unprofitable twenty-five percent should be kept on budget. All other non-historic U.C. research programs should be terminated.

Governor Schwarzenegger set an excellent example for what it means to terminate a non-historic research project when, in 2005-2006, he terminated ILE (Institute for Labor and Employment) first instituted in 2001 (page 68). Even the toned down version of the research findings still available on U.C. Santa Barbara’s website shows that "research" can be added to the list of earthly words that have almost lost all meaning (see "California’s Excessive Liberty…"). Suggesting that such a propaganda program is "research" suggests that members of the U.C. board are in league with the forces of ignorance.

Applying the idea that U.C. current research should be reduced to its historic charter results in this list of multi-campus research projects that should be terminated.

African Studies

Asian American/Pacific Islander Policy Initiative

Institute for Research on Climate Change and Its Societal Impacts (Website has vanished: perhaps some one is listening? If not, great minds think alike)

Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC) 1997 This project would be not be cut according to Principle 1. Funding, however, has already been suspended. Perhaps based on 9/11/2001 and Principle 2, (Historic Accountability) this is appropriate.

Japanese Arts and Globalization

International Performance and Culture (Sure doesn’t sound like research).

Labor and Employment Research Fund (what’s left of ILE –2.4 million in savings) – out!

Pacific Rim Research Program (no history given – savings $800,000)

Tranliteracies Project 2005

UC Digital Arts Network (UC DARNet) Notice how the colorful and carefree acronym seems to disparage responsibility.

UC Initiative in Human Rights (spring 2005) The image of the girl sticking her finger in her own eye says it all about this project.

Transnational and Transcolonial Studies

Transnationalizing Justice

UC All-Campus Consortium on Research for Diversity (UC ACCORD)

UC Committee on Latino Research (see the unfunded recommendation from state senate)

UC Cuba Academic Initiative (2006?)

UC Davis Agricultural Sustainability Institute (2006) – $ 950,000 dollars in immediate savings from suspending new funding is available.

Studies of Food and the Body

UC World History Workshop. This doesn’t sound new but based on available information – terminate.