4 ms·

A lot of things in life shouldn't be painful, but they are (legally speaking). Starting a business, getting divorced, moving to another country for work, becomi

by vijayr 11y ago

A lot of things in life shouldn't be painful, but they are (legally speaking). Starting a business, getting divorced, moving to another country for work, becoming a citizen of another country, getting an abortion, adopting a child - all of these are painful (unless of course one is rich) in terms of legal/paperwork/bureaucracy. This is assuming that one is clean with no baggage, has proper paperwork etc. If a person has criminal history (even a non violent one), it gets much worse. For all the amazing advancements humans have made - it is sad that we can't make the absolute necessities of life easy and smooth. We have weird laws, we impose our opinions/ideas on others for no reason instead of letting them be - we are really a weird species.

eevilspock 11y ago
No, some things should be "painful". Having a child shouldn't be frictionless; It's a serious commitment that people must not enter into lightly. Likewise in a marriage there is often one party who is taking advantage of the other, and there should be just enough friction to make sure there is time and consultation for fairness. But I agree that Kafka-esque type bureaucracy and idiotic rules or rules that impose the values of a specific religion are bad.
- vijayr 11y ago
  One of my friends tried to adopt, it was a nightmare. It is one thing to have proper rules in place so nobody is taken advantage of, but it is totally another thing to have so much bureaucracy that the only purpose it serves is to employ the bureaucrats involved. I am talking about the latter case here. Another example - filing taxes. Why should it be so confusing? Who does it serve other than the middlemen who "help" you file taxes?
  - mikeash 11y ago
    > Who does it serve other than the middlemen who "help" you file taxes? Turns out those middlemen are the ones heavily lobbying against any simplification for tax filing.

by vijayr 11y ago

eevilspock 11y ago

No, some things should be "painful". Having a child shouldn't be frictionless; It's a serious commitment that people must not enter into lightly. Likewise in a marriage there is often one party who is taking advantage of the other, and there should be just enough friction to make sure there is time and consultation for fairness. But I agree that Kafka-esque type bureaucracy and idiotic rules or rules that impose the values of a specific religion are bad.

vijayr 11y ago
One of my friends tried to adopt, it was a nightmare. It is one thing to have proper rules in place so nobody is taken advantage of, but it is totally another thing to have so much bureaucracy that the only purpose it serves is to employ the bureaucrats involved. I am talking about the latter case here. Another example - filing taxes. Why should it be so confusing? Who does it serve other than the middlemen who "help" you file taxes?
- mikeash 11y ago
  > Who does it serve other than the middlemen who "help" you file taxes? Turns out those middlemen are the ones heavily lobbying against any simplification for tax filing.