On Why Bureaucracy Never Shrinks

“Bureaucracy is expanding to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy.”
— C. Northcote Parkinson

(Parkinson’s Law remains undefeated.)

On Rules Replacing Judgment

“Bureaucracy is a system of government in which most of the important decisions are made by people who do not have to face the consequences.”
— Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary

On Good Intentions Gone Wrong

“The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule it.”
— H. L. Mencken

On Why Satire Makes Administrators Nervous

“Every joke is a tiny revolution.”
— George Orwell

(Which explains the paperwork.)

On Institutions Defending Themselves First

“Bureaucracy defends the status quo long past the time when the quo has lost its status.”
— P. J. O’Rourke

On Systems vs. Human Nature

“We have just enough reason to make rules, and just enough folly to require exceptions.”
— Jonathan Swift

On Official Seriousness

“Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand.”
— Mark Twain

(Except, apparently, committees.)

On Why Paperwork Multiplies

“The more time you have to do something, the longer it takes.”
— C. Northcote Parkinson

On Moral Certainty

“Puritanism: the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.”
— H. L. Mencken

On Administrative Logic

“If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with paperwork.”
— Attributed to bureaucratic folklore

Satirists don’t oppose order.
They oppose systems that forget why order existed in the first place.

Or, as Bierce might have defined today:

“Process: A substitute for thinking.”

Regulation — When Good Intentions Get Binding Authority

Regulation rarely announces itself as control.  It usually shows up as “help.”

On Why Regulation Always Grows

 “Once a regulation is imposed, it is rarely removed.  It simply becomes part of the landscape.”
— Milton Friedman

On Regulation vs. Reality

“The problem with socialism—and regulation is one of its tools—is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.”
— Margaret Thatcher

(Regulation spends first; asks questions later.)

On Paperwork as a Substitute for Judgment

“If you want something done, ask a busy person. If you want nothing done, ask a committee.”
— Attributed to C. Northcote Parkinson

On Regulation as Moral Performance

“The goal of regulation is rarely safety; it is the appearance of concern.”
— Thomas Sowell

On Rules That Outlive Their Purpose

“There is nothing so permanent as a temporary government program.”
— Milton Friedman

(Especially if it has a compliance department.)

On Regulators Regulating for Regulators

“Bureaucracy is the art of making the possible impossible.”
— Javier Pascual Salcedo

On Why Regulation Targets the Compliant

“Laws are like cobwebs, which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets break through.”
— Jonathan Swift

On Safety as a Pretext

“Absolute safety is an illusion. The attempt to achieve it creates greater risks elsewhere.”
— Aaron Wildavsky

On Regulation and Innovation

“Excessive regulation is a tax on progress.”
— Ronald Coase

On The Psychology of Control

“The desire to control others is often disguised as the desire to protect them.”
— H. L. Mencken

Quotes

• “Regulation never retires—it only expands its jurisdiction.”

• “Rules multiply faster than the problems they were meant to solve.”

• “Compliance is measurable; Wisdom is not.”

• “Regulation assumes bad faith—and then institutionalizes it.”

Closing

Regulation is easiest to pass when its costs are invisible, its benefits are theoretical, and its enforcement is permanent.