Anyone who's worked in government knows EXACTLY what you are talking about. The problem is not just that the government has to answer to taxpayers, but it has to answer to a wide variety of constituents with different interests. In addition, it is often under a microscope by people looking for the slightly hint of impropriety, when they then blow out of proportion and then publicize. So in the end, the government has layers and layers of bureacracy, some of which is well designed to prevent fraud, but lots of which are just to have a paper trial to protect the government. Also, what's not generally mentioned is that private industry can also be wasteful and inefficient.
To Vincent Kotsubo: Thanks for commenting. And I agree with you on private sector waste and inefficiency, which I've seen and experienced first-hand.
Anyone who's worked in government knows EXACTLY what you are talking about. The problem is not just that the government has to answer to taxpayers, but it has to answer to a wide variety of constituents with different interests. In addition, it is often under a microscope by people looking for the slightly hint of impropriety, when they then blow out of proportion and then publicize. So in the end, the government has layers and layers of bureacracy, some of which is well designed to prevent fraud, but lots of which are just to have a paper trial to protect the government. Also, what's not generally mentioned is that private industry can also be wasteful and inefficient.