Too Much Red Tape? More Like Red Flag!

Government regulations are like that helicopter parent who won't let you ride your bike without wearing three helmets, knee pads, and a bubble wrap suit. Sure, they mean well, but at some point, you've got to learn to scrape your knee.

At least, most parents have their kids' interests at heart. The government is the contrary - most governments do not mean well, and if the people think the government means well, then the government has succeeded in masking their true intentions.

Remember when you could start a lemonade stand without filing a 20-page business plan and getting approval from seventeen different departments? Those were the days! Now, little Timmy needs a food handling certificate, a vendor's license, and probably a PhD in citrus studies before he can sell a single cup. Granted that there should be safety standards when it comes to food, but regulations and red tape just take it over the top.

The regulatory rulebook has gotten so thick, it could double as a doorstop – and that's just the table of contents! Every time a business wants to try something new, they first have to navigate a maze of paperwork that makes tax season look like a walk in the park (speaking of which, you probably need a permit for that walk).

Not content with making so many regulations, the government also deliberately makes them so verbose and complex, that it is difficult to understand and follow them - later they get to strong-arm citizens who understandably fail to comply. As an aside, the CA and lawyer professions in India (maybe elsewhere in the world too) would collapse if the government made rules and regulations simple to understand. Their bread-and-butter banks on the existence of complex laws and regulations.

Here's a wild thought: what if we trusted businesses and individuals to figure some things out on their own? Radical, I know. Instead of having a regulation for every possible scenario – including the proper method for stapling papers in triplicate on a Tuesday during a light drizzle – we could focus on the big stuff that really matters.

Don't get me wrong – some regulations are like good fences that make good neighbors. We definitely want rules against dumping toxic waste in the local pond or selling snake oil as medicine or claiming someone made petrol out of water. But when you need a permit to get a permit to apply for permission to request a license... well, maybe we've gone a bit overboard.

The beauty of a lighter regulatory touch is that it lets innovation breathe. When entrepreneurs spend less time wrestling with red tape and more time actually building things, magic happens. Plus, think of all the trees we'd save from becoming regulatory paperwork!

So, here's to hoping for a future where common sense makes a comeback, where businesses can focus on serving customers instead of satisfying bureaucrats.

This is why the DOGE initiative by Trump and his team looks so attractive. But like all things governmental, any government initiative is susceptible to bureaucracy, including the one that is built for the purpose of reducing bureaucracy. One positive thing that Vivek said is that DOGE itself has a time limit, and it will be dismantled once it has served its purpose.

India is a prime candidate for something like DOGE. But I'm very black-pilled about such a thing happening in India. No government, irrespective of supposed ideology, wants to do it. 'Minimum Government, Maximum Governance' is a huge lie.

The best government oversight is the kind that knows when to look the other way and let people get on with it. Just don't tell the Department of Article Regulation I said that – I haven't renewed my opinion-expressing license this quarter.