The reasons for this are probably as much psychological as mathematical.
Not just psychological, but common and every day. It is the natural response of everybody because to do otherwise requires people to both stop and contemplate which is rarely done and have the training to see beyond adding one kluge on top of another. It’s not just training either, it’s having a certain perspective that isn’t the focus of most training.
I saw it constantly as a programmer. Code would bloat with new additions. My code was referred to by my programmer workmates as bulletproof. The reason was I made a conscious effort to always simplify rather than just add.
Of course, this article has a bigger perspective regarding local vs. federal management. I’m thinking, if the bloat occurs locally, it is minimised. When the bloat is federal, it covers all localities, so it is bloat based on the maximum bloat of all localities. We fix NYC, a fairly big city, and we are ‘now prepared to take on any problem anywhere’ but they are not.
Ah, I guess it is mathematical after all… Bloat = MAX(set of localities)*Demagoguery
Do you think if the government wasn’t involved in disaster relief, at any level, people would buy insurance and shop around for one with a reputation for actually doing a good job?
The reasons for this are probably as much psychological as mathematical.
Not just psychological, but common and every day. It is the natural response of everybody because to do otherwise requires people to both stop and contemplate which is rarely done and have the training to see beyond adding one kluge on top of another. It’s not just training either, it’s having a certain perspective that isn’t the focus of most training.
I saw it constantly as a programmer. Code would bloat with new additions. My code was referred to by my programmer workmates as bulletproof. The reason was I made a conscious effort to always simplify rather than just add.
Of course, this article has a bigger perspective regarding local vs. federal management. I’m thinking, if the bloat occurs locally, it is minimised. When the bloat is federal, it covers all localities, so it is bloat based on the maximum bloat of all localities. We fix NYC, a fairly big city, and we are ‘now prepared to take on any problem anywhere’ but they are not.
Ah, I guess it is mathematical after all… Bloat = MAX(set of localities)*Demagoguery
Hayek warned: wartime socialism -> peacetime socialism.
Meanwhile, we have Bill Whittle and others crying out about The Obama Emergency.
Do you think if FEMA didn’t exist and the states kept their own disaster relief funds some states might have already invested in these.
Do you think if the government wasn’t involved in disaster relief, at any level, people would buy insurance and shop around for one with a reputation for actually doing a good job?
Government isn’t the solution, it’s the problem.