Just found this little gem in a document from some Eurocrats (or rather lobby group) who wants more bureaucracy:

With a change of occupancy, the electricity supply contract can usually be transferred by a simple administrative procedure. This is a missed opportunity.

I've never looked at the world from that perspective before...

Calling this a "missed opportunity" is very telling of the mentality of some of these people. A missed opportunity for what? Making a simple task expensive and far more complex than it needs to be?

I expect they would dream up some system whereby both old and new occupants have to send formsin triplicate to some new multi-million govt. dept. to get "approval", followed by some exorbitant "Utility service transfer fee."

A missed opportunity for what, exactly, does it say?

Read this and weep.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/1588323.stm


{ Edited to fix link - Paul }


[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 01-25-2006).]

I assume a missed opportunity to have the system checked and if dangerous problems are found brought up to code. On one hand that seems like a good way of forcing cheap landlords to have dangerous wiring brought up to code at their own expenses, but on the other hand any wiring older than let's say 25 years would probably be classified imminently dangerous, grossly reducing the opportunities to get an appartment unrenovated with cheap rent, update the wiring at your own expenses and enjoy the low rent. Especially students and young people in Vienna often have hardly any other chance of getting their own apartment unless their parents are willing to pay huge sums.
As an example: a 40 square meter apartment (small by Viennese standards) in new construction would be about 400 Euro/month at best, tendency going up with the quality. An old unrenovated (usually nicer) apartment could come less than 100 Euro if you were lucky.

OT: People with really old rent contracts pay 90 Euros for 200 square meter apartments smack downtown...

What I don't like is the way that things are being increasingly forced upon people whether they want them or not because some bureaucrat decides "It's for their own good," like mandatory crash helmet and seat belt laws.

The proposed "Home sellers pack" that is in the pipeline here is a good example (the idea being that it will be made a legal requiremement for somebody selling a house to gather together a whole load of surveys and certificates first).

If somebody wants to buy a house without having the wiring, plumbing, roof, or anything else checked, that should be his choice. If he wants to get experts in to look them over first, he's always been free to do so.

If I'm happy to buy a place "as is" without having surveys done, then why should it be any of the government's business?

That's especially the case with people who buy houses just for the "shell" or just for the land.

The place will be demolished anyway to make way for whatever new construction will take its place. With that will come new wiring, plumbing, etc. Who cares what state the old stuff is in.

Here's a story that I found rather wierd:
From the Mirror

That one is certainly strange, but I'm afraid that's precisely the sort of petty-minded bureaucracy that's being forced upon us at every turn these days in this country.

Has anyone ever noticed that every new government policy introduced is one that reduces the citizen's freedom and ability to use common sense?

Aussie, I would not assume anything sinister....let me explain this behaviour as it was once explained to me:

A mid-level govt functionary put it this way: I am responsible for "Line 14a of form 342 for my ministry. I have two boys. Since it is my duty to provide for their employment when they are older, I will do everthing I can to see that Line 14a is split into two sub-parts- one for each of my boys to administer."

And just look at how raising something to the power of two repeatedly very soon results in a massive expansion from even the smallest of beginnings.

It's like that old question about a grand prize in a contest where the winner has the option of walking away with $1,000,000 right now, or he can take 2 cents today, 4 cents tomorrow, 8 cents the next day, and so on for a period of 30 days.

Work it out: With the second option by day #30 he would have accrued over $20 million!