“Often the less there is to justify a traditional custom the harder it is to get rid of it.”

How true. Once anything ever gets passed in congress it seems impossible to ever get rid of it.

Government bureaus are a great example, they last forever no matter how bad they are. When they prove to make matters worse they aren't done away with, they just get more money and get bigger. The War on Drugs and the Department of Energy are prime examples.

Editor (just a fleeting FYI) my earlier comments were dropped off again. You've explained how that may have happened in the past, but any way, thank you for all your efforts. Here, cal and jim give very apropos comments.

The reason that government departments that do harm are expanded is because harm is what was intended. The bigger the mess, the more difficult it its for an individual to fend for himself, the more tempting it is to rely on public assistance. To actually make government effective, efficient, and beneficial would put the Dems out of business.

The rulers know that the masses are controlled by custom and tradition more than anything else. That is why they can do whatever they want even if it is unconstitutional -- we don't follow the constitution, we follow the customs we have been indoctrinated into. The 'opinion-makers' tell us what to think then we demand it from the government, the Law be damned.