I stood on the bridge; I stood right there on the bridge looking down at the Rio Grande River, and what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a Mexican gentleman who had started himself a ferryboat service.

Inspecting IDs is a waste of time and money, but it's ideal from the bureaucratic point of view because it doesn't solve the problem.

Mr. Washington said, "Government is like fire - an uncertain servant and a fearful master," but he missed the essence. At its core, governance boils down to two questions: "Who says?" and "Who pays?"

Bureaucracies never die, and India's still uses genuine red tape.