HOW MINDLESS BUREAUCRATIC AUTOMATONS COST US MONEY

This is only a small, very small example, but it's telling:

My husband is now 67 years old.

Since he is living on the gov't Retirement Pension with a supplmental income (that's about 1900 NIS per month), he is entitled to a 100% discount on city tax.

We arranged that discount as soon as he became eligible. Once eligibility started immediately upon turning 65 for men. Now they make people wait a given number of months after their 65 birthday, depending upon when they were born. Whatever. Another way to rip us off.

Anyway, we received the bill that everyone receives at the beginning of the year that allows them to choose if they wish to pay the city tax for the year in one lump sum, which allows an insignificant discount or to pay it bimonthly. The discount assumes that the American dollar, the standard of Israeli payments, will rise in value over the period of the year, which it may very well not this year.

We have been given the choice, in writing, on a colorful, high-grade piece of paper that was issued by computer and sent to us by snail mail, to either pay:

1702.00 NIS
-1702.oo NIS

or

283.70 NIS
-283.70 NIS

I'm feeling generous. I'll pay both! I'll even pay any multiple of the requested payment they like. I'll go so far as to pay any multiple of the two sums. It's all the same to me, but it's not all the same to the hapless taxpayer, who paid for this worthless and inane bill that was issued.

I wonder how many bills like this we paid for when we were taxpayers.

Doreen Ellen Bell-Dotan, Tzfat, Israel
DoreenDotan@gmail.com