Red Tape Hot Box on bloated government payrolls
There's not much to smile about these days, what with the country wallowing in economic stagnation, foreign investment slowing down and unemployment steadily rising. So when people see my smiling face, they are clearly wondering, "What's this lad got to be so happy about?" The answer is simple: Red tape, the focus of my attention, is not letting me down.
For several years, employment levels in government administration have been rising steadily, in a head-to-head race with unemployment. In the past 10 years the number of administrative clerks has doubled, and now we have around 550,000 of them occupying their nice, comfy seats. I doubt that this number will drop. In fact, I find it rather strange that, given the general and persistent criticism levelled at government bureaucracy - which was inherited from the communist days - that administrative payrolls are continuing to grow. The situation becomes even more perplexing when you consider that we are living in a so-called information society, where our e-government advocates computer and Internet-based services as a way of reducing human intervention and eliminating reams of paperwork, and thus simplifying all things government-related.
Yet, bureaucracy continues to thrive, and even grow. Maintaining its bloated administrative workforce costs our government around €2.15 billion (zł. 9 billion) per year (a clerk's average wage is around zł. 3,000 a month). By comparison, the cost of building one kilometre of highway is €2.4 million (zł. 10 million). Thus, instead of spending money on new motorways, which are badly needed, the bureaucracy grows fatter year by year.
Naturally, there is a certain interdependence between the huge government administrative costs and the high taxes that we must pay. Everyone knows that if we want our economy to develop at a higher rate than at present, taxes need to be lowered. But then, how will our poor government leaders pay their bureaucratic workforce? Certainly not from their own pockets. So, as long as the bureaucracy flourishes, we can hold out little hope for tax reductions.
I came across some interesting research, which forecasts that if this dreadful trend continues into the long term, we will have 15 million people unemployed (86% of the workforce) by the year 2022, while the remaining 14%, or 2.5 million people, will be employed in government bureaucracy. Then, finally, the administration will be able to work effectively, and without interruption.
Red tape bugging you? Tell Mateusz about it at mdembinski@wbj.pl.
For several years, employment levels in government administration have been rising steadily, in a head-to-head race with unemployment. In the past 10 years the number of administrative clerks has doubled, and now we have around 550,000 of them occupying their nice, comfy seats. I doubt that this number will drop. In fact, I find it rather strange that, given the general and persistent criticism levelled at government bureaucracy - which was inherited from the communist days - that administrative payrolls are continuing to grow. The situation becomes even more perplexing when you consider that we are living in a so-called information society, where our e-government advocates computer and Internet-based services as a way of reducing human intervention and eliminating reams of paperwork, and thus simplifying all things government-related.
Yet, bureaucracy continues to thrive, and even grow. Maintaining its bloated administrative workforce costs our government around €2.15 billion (zł. 9 billion) per year (a clerk's average wage is around zł. 3,000 a month). By comparison, the cost of building one kilometre of highway is €2.4 million (zł. 10 million). Thus, instead of spending money on new motorways, which are badly needed, the bureaucracy grows fatter year by year.
Naturally, there is a certain interdependence between the huge government administrative costs and the high taxes that we must pay. Everyone knows that if we want our economy to develop at a higher rate than at present, taxes need to be lowered. But then, how will our poor government leaders pay their bureaucratic workforce? Certainly not from their own pockets. So, as long as the bureaucracy flourishes, we can hold out little hope for tax reductions.
I came across some interesting research, which forecasts that if this dreadful trend continues into the long term, we will have 15 million people unemployed (86% of the workforce) by the year 2022, while the remaining 14%, or 2.5 million people, will be employed in government bureaucracy. Then, finally, the administration will be able to work effectively, and without interruption.
Red tape bugging you? Tell Mateusz about it at mdembinski@wbj.pl.
