Week 1 Blog

Being a state employee, I decided that I would approach how the Internet has helped the government. The Internet has allowed citizens to access parts of local and federal government that were once only available in the library, in hard copy. You can now view the state budget as soon as it is released. Also, different branches of the government have embraced the Internet and technology to allow people easier access to their services. For example, you can renew your car registration and your license on the RMV website. Granted you can only renew your license once every 10 years online because they require a new picture every 10 years but there is less time now spent in line at the RMV. The website for my agency allows Assistant District Attorneys to view and download case files, view an expert witness database as well as view and download forms that were previously unavailable to them. I discovered that in the past if they wanted these forms, they were mailed out. Also, on the Federal level you can fill out a passport form and print it out before you go to the post office. You still have to pay for it at the post office but there are now fewer steps involved. Granted there have been issues with access or a server going down but for the most part the Internet has allowed citizens to view the government in a way that they couldn’t before. There is now an ease of access that did not exist previously.