Spotted! Bureaucrat and Friends at Fancy Japanese Restaurant

Who is this mystery bureaucrat spotted by Harry?

He is not the typical bureaucrat that everyone knows. He is not even the kind that people "democratically" elect into office. This man, spotted at a fancy Japanese restaurant, is an appointed bureaucrat. He was just put into a position with a lot of power and taxpayer's money at his disposal.

He is the "City Administrator" appointed not because of credentials or competence, but because of a connection with the elected mayor. He is the "little mayor" or more technically another mayor that works behind the scenes. And underneath him are more councils, committees, directors, assistants, and even ghost employees and positions.

I know that he has the same right as me to be in that restaurant but I do loathe him for taking away my appetite. They, him and his friends (more commonly known as cronies or highly favored suppliers), were laughing and talking loudly as they ordered away in what I considered to be quite an expensive restaurant.

My point, really, is that the bureaucracy that is visible to us is merely the tip of the iceberg. Underneath the apparent evil of elected officials is a system or machinery that breeds corruption and inefficiency. This is one part, I believe, that makes it so hard to battle corruption and bureaucracy because even the very bottom-feeders of this system is gaining money and power off of it.

These people are given so much power and money to work on projects, choose suppliers, demand for more budget, appoint more bureaucrats, and inevitably increase spending and expand the scope of government.

My recommendation is that we rethink our values about how we perceive the government and bureaucracy. We should always be wary of any increase in spending or expansion of government roles because it just feeds more money and power into the system.

Also, if you see a bureaucrat eating expensive sushi then you should at least be even a bit outraged. It is highly probable, almost without a doubt, that he is using the hard-earned money of the taxpayers for his expensive and delicious meal.

Bureaucrat spotted. xoxo. haha.