A country sinking under paperwork

A couple of posts from ordinary people sinking under the weight of government imposed bureaucracy:

An academic:

staff now have to fill in page after page of documentation on every module and every programme and are asked questions which are impossible to answer honestly; thus 'what are the aims and objectives of a module in geometry, or the function of the kidney?' In the past it was accepted that experts in a field would be trusted to behave responsibly, now they need to write it down so that others, less well qualified, can judge it.

and a charity worker:

the problem that a lot of charitable organisations have when applying for funding is the enourmous levels of beaucacy that accompanies any application e.g. setting targets, review procedures, equal opps, inspection and auditing etc. In other words, introducing the same levels of inefficieny and inflexibility that the state insists on for itself!

I'm reminded of a post a read a couple of days back in which it was suggested that the Conservatives may well become the party of the working classes. Certainly if these two posts are anything to go by, even public sector workers are realising that the government's approach of aggressively enforced targets is a hindrance to progress in the public sector.