... and he is talking (judging from the brand new PC-XT he got) circa 1984. So the comparison should be more between 1984 bureaucracy and 2017 one. Cannot say

... and he is talking (judging from the brand new PC-XT he got) circa 1984. So the comparison should be more between 1984 bureaucracy and 2017 one. Cannot say what happened in these 30+ years in Germany or the Netherlands, but I can tell you that here (Italy) the number (and frequence) of bureaucratic obligations (and number of Laws that you have to be compliant with) has almost tripled in many sectors (maybe not if you are putting together a software - or similar "immaterial" - company). Things are getting (slowly and only slightly) better lately because of some changes in the way things can be done remotely (via Internet, etc.) but seemingly a lot of public offices managed (since all in all doing this kind of stuff with modern technologies is easier) to multiply the requirements, nullifying the progresses in terms of saving time (and costs).