George Rodrigue 2006

Everybody has heard of this stuff. It usually means rigidly adhering to rules designed for circumstances different than those currently being encountered. It dates back to the ancient practice of binding official papers in thin strips of red cloth.

But it has been updated. In recent times it has become associated with volumes of government forms that must be filled out in precisely the right way in order to get anything done. Our governments produce tons of this stuff.

When challenged people always want it "cut" or "cut through" but that rarely works because it leaves a void and creates more chaos when bureaucrats try to operate without their familiar tools.