10 outrageously pricey tax breaks 'gifted' by Congress (The Fiscal Times)
 Dysfunctional Parliaments in grip of Lobbies, Special Interests

Cancer of Bureaucracy

Bureaucracy is growing like a cancer in most 'democracies'. Not only is the number of bureaucrats rising inexorably, it is also their pay and the powers they can use without being properly held to account. Laws (if you want to call most of the edicts issued by the Establishment Nomenklatura as such) and 'regulations' become so complicated that proper supervision is near impossible. The attention span of Media, Opposition politicians and the general public is just too short to get their teeth into any problems while the taxpayer-funded bureaucracy is able to sit out any protest in their gilded office palaces while clipping a mostly guaranteed pay coupon.
The only solution that would at least ameliorate - if not solve - this problem is the introduction of Direct Democracy. This would make any law - new or old - including associated 'directives' and 'regulations' subject to scrutiny by all the citizens. In the same vein all salaries of public functionaries should be in the public domain, including the responsibilities of each individual bureaucrat. So any citizen could actually monitor what each official is supposed to be employed for. Just the fact that this information needs to be published would put a stop to the most egregious abuses.

Cry me a River Madame Trierweiler!

News that the French President may two-time his partner and so-called 'First Lady' throws light on a small detail in the way public money is wasted in our democracies. Apart from the fact that the role of the 'First Lady' is not written into any constitution it is a minor scandal that Madame Trierweiler is given an office and a staff of five in the Elysee Palace.