We could also rip out the cables entirely, and then people would not be forced along the same slick path as the cable jerks who yank and shake the cables and make everyone unsafe. That would make it just like every other rock in the park - climb it if you can, take the gear you need to do it.
Or we could just acknowledge that the park service is doing the best they can, trying a new system and changing it as they go along. The only thing you can change is how you think about it - the levels of frustration with the permit system rival the levels of frustration with the campground reservation system, however, it is all part of the attempt to preserve the park for everyone and having patience and understanding is about all you're going to be able to do. Suggesting the abolishment of efforts to preserve when the primary goal of the park service is to do just that is almost as futile as... suggesting to a determined half dome wannabe that he/she shouldn't go up the cables in the rain.
Did you know they release 50 permits for use the following day?
http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/hdpermits.htm"Initial hiker counts for this season indicate that there are numerous no shows among Half Dome permit holders. In an effort to make up for these no shows, the National Park Service (NPS) will manually release additional Half Dome permits each day, at 7 am PDT on the day before the permit date. For instance, at 7 am on Friday, additional permits will become available online (recommended) and through the call center at Recreation.gov for use on Saturday. This will continue throughout the summer until further notice. These permits are taken in a matter of seconds, but it's worth continuing to check because some transactions are not completed, resulting in a few permits becoming available as late as 7:30. Additionally, some permits are canceled every day (and can be canceled and re-reserved until midnight the day before the hiking date).
NPS will initially release an additional 50 Half Dome permits each day and then adjust these numbers, either up or down, throughout the season based upon ongoing hiker counts.These additional permits will have $1.50 processing fee and be limited to purchases of four at a time. Unlike the earlier Half Dome permits, these are non transferable. To counter the illegal resale of Half Dome permits, the group leader, whose name is recorded at the time of transaction, must accompany his or her group on their Half Dome hike. Once the permit transaction is completed, the group leader’s name cannot be changed. "