If I want to book an appointment online at any of Berlin's government offices, the next available date is in May. But if I call, they can offer me any number of dates this month and next… they save them for people who aren't online.

In some ways, this is good – saving some for people who don't have internet access – but on the other hand, it means the best ones are reserved for German speakers.

I like Arthur C. #Clarke's "Any sufficiently advanced #technology is indistinguishable from #magic."

To this, I'd like to add:

1. This also applies to #bureaucracy, as is: any sufficiently complex organisation is indistinguishable from magic. Which is why people keep saying "they should..." without actually knowing who "they" are (and often where there couldn't even exist anyone with such a role).

2. It doesn't say what kind of magic.

Fuck the #WallStreetJournal #WSJ

But this story is a perfect microcosm of our boring #capitalist #dystopia

1. #Commercial #healthcare death panels

2. #CustomerService #bureaucracy reps who don't care

3. #AI #enshittification

And the cherry on top:

4. #MassMedia selling the #agenda of #plutocracy by describing the AI enshittification as "well, it's a nice development, see. It drives you into debt, makes you suffer, and kills you early... *cheerfully*"

https://www.wsj.com/articles/turns-out-ai-is-more-empathetic-than-allstates-insurance-reps-cf5f7c98

The downtrend in the number of applicants for bureaucratic positions in Japan appears to be stabilizing, in a shift attributed to a rise in those taking "liberal arts category" career-track examinations. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/01/22/japan/bureaucrat-aspirants/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #bureaucracy #jobs #nationalpersonnelauthority

Applications for public service positions are declining, while departures to the private sector are rising. Now, concerns are being raised about the quality of future bureaucrats especially as new grads look elsewhere for employment. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/04/17/japan/society/students-lose-interest-in-civil-service/ #japan #society #bureaucracy #jobs #workstylereform

One of the things #Brexit was supposed to free us from was the dead hand of (European) #bureaucracy.... but in the years since we left the EU what has become pretty clear is that actually our bureaucratic problems are mostly homegrown.

From planning to banking, in both private & public sectors, organisations remain adept at making everything harder than it should be...

In one sense the #Brexiters worry about administrators was correct, just they wrongly identified their nationality...

The Japanese government plans to allow bureaucrats to work remotely in principle if they wish to do so, according to an outline of guidelines to be issued by the end of next month. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/02/07/japan/bureaucrats-teleworking/?utm_content=buffera3a5d&utm_medium=social&utm_source=mastodon&utm_campaign=bffmstdn #japan #bureaucracy #telework #workstylereform

Most years, I have to apply to #Germany's central #tax office for relief from wittholding tax. The procedure used to take months, with letters going back and fort.

As of 2023, it is all done #online. Now, the procedure takes at least 1 year.
#Digitalisierung
#bureaucracy
#eGov

It can be painful to fill out forms, when the only options are “male” and “female.” It’s wrong that bureaucracy demands these ridiculous sacrifices from us.

But no matter how much these systems try to whittle at our resolve, wage war against our sense of self, or flat out refuse to acknowledge that we exist,we are stronger than them, and a little peice of paper or page on a screen can’t ever change that.

We are better and stronger than their ignorance.

Japan's National Personnel Authority recommended Monday that the monthly salaries of civil servants in general positions be raised by an average 0.96%, or ¥3,869 ($27), the highest increase in 26 years. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2023/08/07/civil-servants-pay-rise-26-years/?utm_content=buffer4b995&utm_medium=social&utm_source=mastodon&utm_campaign=bffmstdn #business #wages #inflation #bureaucracy #japaneseeconomy

names themselves given
to mark who belongs where
or who belongs to whom—
it's a medieval game
for estate inheritance,
family importance

ought we not to choose
to be known to the world
as though we are our own
instead of some item
in someone else's ledger?

The government plans to appoint Kazuo Masuda, director-general for defense policy, as the Defense Ministry's top bureaucrat after he played a central role in formulating Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's security agenda. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/07/02/national/masuda-defense-ministry/?utm_content=buffer7beca&utm_medium=social&utm_source=mastodon&utm_campaign=bffmstdn #news #japan #defense #defenseministry #bureaucracy #kazuomasuda