On Monday (1/30/2012), I went to the Cobb County Government Center on Lower Roswell Road to renew my car registration. There were six people in front of me. From the time I arrived to the time I left was under ten minutes. To say that the people in the tax office are efficient, courteous, and friendly would be an understatement. Too often we hear about lazy, inefficient, underworked, and overpaid government workers. In my experience the workers in the tax office are representative of the vast majority of those who work for Cobb County government, and that includes my contacts with the police and fire departments. We are fortunate to have such a high caliber work force.

I might add, especially to those critics of federal employees, if you haven’t dealt with the Social Security Administration, you could only wish that the private sector could run as smoothly. Too many government workers at all levels have been negatively stereotyped. Perhaps the critics are blind to all too many consumer complaints from the private sector, by way of example. It is a myth that the private sector always works better and more efficiently. And no, I am not a socialist by any stretch; I am just pointing out the reality of people being people in any setting.