Analog in a digital world

Our government does a lot of real dumb things, wasting enormous amounts of resources for bridges to nowhere, museums, and monuments built to satisfy the egos of those in Congress—especially those from West Virginia.I was recently reading the new book Nudge (highly thought-provoking, but more on that later) on a flight from Venice, Italy to Frankfurt, Germany. When I learned what I'm about to share with you I was LMAO, to the point where the guy next to me asked what was so funny. When I explained to him, he looked dumbstruck, but then it dawned on me—he's European, so he's used to government lunacy.In it's infinite wisdom, the Social Security Administration's Web site has "Hours of Operation":

(All times ET)Weekdays 5 AM - 1 AMSaturday 5 AM - 11 PMSunday 8 AM - 11:30 PM5 AM - 11 PM on these holidays:New Years DayIndependence DayThanksgiving DayChristmas DayHours for all other holidays are: 5 AM - 1 AM

So if you're an insomniac, wake up between 1AM and 5AM concerned over whether or not you should take early Social Security or wait until full retirement age, the calculator on the Web site will not operate during those nocturnal hours, causing great discomfiture for millions of worry warts.Imagine if the private sector's Web sites had "hours of operation."And we want to turn over our health care to this crowd? I wonder what it would be like to be driven in an ambulance operated by Amtrak to a hospital run by the Postal Service, or the SSA?As Milton Friedman used to say, "It's a good thing we don't get all the government we pay for."Unless, of course, you're surfing the Web at the wrong times.