This reminds me of an observation about the British Empire that the bureaucracy was at its most vast the day it was abolished.
Yes, that comes from an essay written in 1955 by Parkinson:
http://doc.cat-v.org/economics/parkinsons-law/the-economist-...
What we have to note is that the 2,000 Admiralty officials of 1914 had become the 3,569 of 1928; and that this growth was unrelated to any possible increase in their work. The Navy during that period had diminished, in point of fact, by a third in men and two-thirds in ships. Nor, from 1922 onwards, was its strength even expected to increase, for its total of ships (unlike its total of officials) was limited by the Washington Naval Agreement of that year.
1. The only thing that matters is the budget.
2. Bureaucracies only grow, never shrink, and the only thing you can control is the rate of growth.
Thanks for sharing another one with us!