I had a job at the university for the last month of my studies. It ended on the 31st august. I’ve been waiting for my taxcard since then.
It turns out that I have to go a certain bureau and get it myself because I have to sign for the damn thing.
That really is bureaucracy* at it’s finest: We’ll make and really hard to understand and very complex, but we’re not going to tell you how it works.
Argh!
* Maybe it’s really spelled like this: bureaucrazy
why should they make it easy for you when they can make it easy on themselves?
i think it’s really spelled like this: boreoutyouandme
Reminds me of a friend who went to the administrative office before moving to Frankfurt. He wanted to change his address (in Germany you have to register with local authorities in about two weeks after moving) and get something else done (forgotten what exactly).
So he told the clerk: “I need two things.”
First, the clerk changed his address. After that my friend officially was no longer a citizen of this city but of Frankfurt.
Then he asked for the second task.
The Clerk’s reply: “Sorry, you have to go to the office in Frankfurt, because you are not registered here.”
True story!
Oh, the joy!
you register whan you move?
wow.
Yeah, we have ID-cards and stuff here in Germany. And you must register when you move, you may be fined if you miss it.
none o’ that stuff here in the u.s. of a.
the only reason you need to let anybody know anything is to be sure your mail gets forwarded to you.
and driver’s licenses and stuff like that.
and taxes. let’s not forget them.
but, if you wanted to vanish, you could, i suppose.
every few years the idea of a national i.d. card comes up, but it’s voted down.
you don’t even have to prove who you are to vote.
just show up, know your name, sign on the line, and vote.
that’s it.