VitalChek a Pennsylvania Ripoff

A few months ago, I decided to get a passport. I could tell you that it's because of the election, but the simple truth is that I'd like to visit a few countries where nobody knows me, like Idaho. But they don't just hand those out. If you want a passport, you have to apply, and for that, you need a birth certificate. I lost mine.

My mother, who used to tell me that I was actually the spawn of Satan, might have burnt mine, actually. But that's no problem. I could just apply for a copy, and thanks to the Internets, I could do it online. Now the state is too damn busy doing important things to track down my birth certificate. But it has one of those public-private partnerships with an outfit called VitalChek, a Lexis Nexis company, VitalChek is only too happy to do it for $30. So I paid up and waited a few months . ... And waited some more.... and more.

I'll be making a road trip today to Pennsylvania's Division of Vital Records, wherever that is, to find my birth certificate. VitalChek is a complete waste of time and money.  If you need a birth certificate or if you die and need a death certificate, get the record yourself or ask your state legislator to get it for you.

After not having received my birth certificate in the 10-20 days that VitalChek estimated, I went online and inserted my order number. I received a message telling me nothing except that the bastards have my money. Then I checked "Pennsylvania processing times" to see if that might help. VitalCheck apparently thinks it's not so vital to update this reference. It was last updated on September 12, over a month ago  According to VitalCheck, the state is only now  getting around to applications for birth certificates that came in July. If you're dead, they're a little quicker. They probably get fewer complaints.

So Vitalcheck lies. It represents online that the birth certificate would be out in 10-20 days when it knows that the state is months behind. In fact, it takes longer to get a frickin' birth certificate than it does to get a passport.
I called to complain.

I was placed on hold and got a message saying, "Due to unusually high call volume, we suggest you again later."

In other words, fuck you!

Eventually, I was disconnected.

I tried again. Same message. Same disconnect.

But I kept trying, and eventually got through.

When I explained what was happening to the person on the other end, I got this: "I am so sorry this has happened to you."

In other words, fuck you!

I demanded my money back.

"I am so sorry but we can't do that. The state has your money."

In other words, fuck you!

I decided to call Vital Records and got this:

"Please pay attention because our options have changed."

In other words, you're a dumass!

"If you applied for a birth certificate online, press two.

I did and got this:

"Welcome to Vitalchek. Due to unusually heavy call volume, wee suggest you try again later."

You know, I really am a dumass.

It's treatment like this that makes people hate government and those public-private partnerships. So I'm going there today, and while I'm there, I'm going to pick up my death certificate, too. I just hope I wasn't born in Kenya.

Freeman Wants More Transparency in Legislature and Politics

State Rep. Bob Freeman, D-Northampton, has introduced two modest bills designed to offer greater transparency regarding how money is spent by the General Assembly and who's donating to its candidates.

Legislative Audit

His first bill (H.B. 1744) would require the state auditor general to audit the General Assembly and its legislative service agencies, rather than hiring a certified public accountant.

"The auditor general is the chief watchdog of how state funds are spent," Freeman said. "His office audits the various agencies of state government on a regular basis. Having the auditor general do the legislative audits will make it a more public and transparent process and has the added benefit of saving money since the need for hiring an outside firm would no longer be required."

Freeman's bill would require the auditor general to audit all financial accounts of the General Assembly annually, and to provide for special audits if necessary. Copies of the audits would be submitted to House and Senate leaders and be made available to the public.

It;s unclear whether this audit would include the party caucuses.

This bill has 17 sponsors, including Freeman. Surprisingly, Republican Justin Simmons has agreed to co-sponsor, along with LV democrats Steve Samuelson, Pete Schweyer and Danny McNeill.  I don't see Schlossberg's name. He's probably busy renting the limo to drive Fed Ed to the Pa Society at the Waldorf.

Additional Report From Legislative Candidates  

Freeman's second bill (H.B. 1745) would require candidates for the General Assembly to follow the same expense report requirements as candidates for statewide office. Currently, both General Assembly and statewide office candidates are required to file a report on the second Friday before an election, but only candidates for statewide office are required to report on or before the sixth Tuesday before the election.

"This change would provide earlier disclosure and greater transparency on who is contributing to candidates for the General Assembly," Freeman said. "This is information voters should have access to earlier in a campaign than they currently do."

The currently required second-Friday expense report is filed just 10 days before the election. Freeman said that filing comes so close to the election that the information about where candidates are getting their contributions tends to get lost in the last week of campaign literature and other information.

The lack of newspaper coverage makes things even worse.

"This would put everything on the table and allow voters to see who is backing which candidates and what they stand for, or more importantly, who they stand with," Freeman said. "It also offers candidates the benefit of saving time and effort when filing their second Friday report because they would have already reported finance information just over a month earlier."

Both measures are expected to be referred to the House State Government Committee for review.

As weak a reform as this is, Freeman only has 13 sponsors, including himself. Locally, only Danny McNeill has joined him.

I contacted Freeman to discuss this legislation with him, but fortunately, he is stuck  in Harrisburg and is actually working on resolving the state budget impasse at this moment.

I consider both bills extremely weak. A 6th Tuesday report means very little because most money is not collected until much closer to the election. But when a report is filed, wouldn't it be nice to see it online? Shouldn't state candidates be required to efile their reports so they can be viewed immediately? Shouldn't all report, for every office, be available online in the County where the candidate is running?

24/7 Wall Street Rates Pa. as 41st Worst State in the Nation

It's hard to believe that none states are worse off than Pennsylvania, but that's what 24/7 Wall Street concludes in its latest round-up of the best-run states in the nation. North Dakota is rated the best-run state, while New Mexico is at the bottom of the barrel. Here's the Keystone State assessment:

41. Pennsylvania
Debt per capita: $3,677 (20th highest)
Credit rating (S and P/Moody’s): AA-/Aa3
Unemployment rate: 5.1% (24th highest)
Median household income: $53,234 (22nd highest)
Poverty rate: 13.6% (20th lowest)

Pennsylvania is currently in the middle of a budget stalemate, as Democratic Governor Tom Wolf is in political gridlock with the state’s Republican legislature to reach an agreement on an annual budget. State officials missed the budget deadline, and over the four months of the proceedings, the budgetless state spent more than $27 billion — a considerable proportion of annual funds typically available to the state. Such spending in the state is unsustainable. Pennsylvania was one of seven states last fiscal year reporting no rainy day funds whatsoever. For Moody’s, these budget difficulties display poor fiscal management. The rating agency downgraded Pennsylvania’s credit rating this year to Aa3, one of the lowest of any state.