Every so often I think that bureaucracies can’t sink to new lows. I should never underestimate the stupidity of bureaucracies.
First, from South Carolina comes the word that anyone who wants to overthrow the United States Government must register with the South Carolina Secretary of State for $5. Frankly, this whole idea is plain Bozo. Can’t you just imagine a terrorist saying, “Well, before I blow up that building I better send that $5 off to Columbia, South Carolina.”
Then we get into bureaucratic nit-picking. Via the Tax Guru comes the story of how cities use fines to raise money. Most individuals, when they receive a fine, just pay it. New York City is desperate for money, so fines are going up, up, and up. The New York Post reported that the New York Budget Office, “…found most violations cost more to issue and collect than they raised.” The fines went up, more employees are needed, so all is well. It’s just another incident of bad budgeting.
Finally, many of you may have seen this advertisement on the Super Bowl broadcast:
The advertisement was (I hope) intended to poke fun at the current Green Movement. However, here in California many of these measures are real. Some cities have fines for missorting garbage. (Indeed, that was one of the fines noted in the article on increased fines in New York City.) While incandescent light bulbs are being phased out for sale by 2012 throughout the United States, they’ll soon be illegal in California.
These are all prime examples of why we need a far smaller, limited government.
