Great Moments in Foreign Government

 July 7, 2023 by Dan Mitchell @ International LIberty

I have a series of columns analyzing “Great Moments in Foreign Government” to show that other countries have politicians and bureaucrats who are just as foolish as their American counterparts.

I guess this is the policy version of “misery loves company.” And it’s also a source of horror and/or amusement.

• The British government giving welfare to people with multiple wives.
• Taxpayer-financed sex breaks in Sweden.
• Promoting welfare tourism in the European Union.
• A donkey that identifies as a zebra in Egypt.
• Decimal point mistakes and Spanish submarines..

So let’s update our collection.

An Italian man learned that good deeds get punished. At least they get punished when you expose the sloth and inefficiency that seems to be an inherent feature of government.

Here are some excerpts from a report in the U.K.-based Guardian.

Claudio Trenta was so frustrated by the local council’s failure to repair the 30cm pothole on a pedestrian crossing in Barlassina, a small town in Lombardy, that the 72-year-old decided to take action himself by filling it… This led to a fine of €882… He was fined for carrying out a potentially dangerous job in a public space without permission or the competence to do so. Trenta has been ordered to restore the hole to its original state. …Trenta, who says he reported the pothole to the local authority several times over three months, has received a wave of solidarity from across Italy.

Now let’s visit France, where the health care system is sometime bad for the living.

But, as the New York Times reports, it’s also sometimes bad for the dead.

…when Sandra Lambryczak’s 80-year-old mother died…in the predawn hours of a Saturday morning, the daughter suddenly discovered a growing problem in France’s medical system: By law, the body couldn’t be moved until the death was certified by a medical doctor, but a shortage of personnel can sometimes force families to keep their deceased loved ones at home for hours or even days. …She turned off the heaters and flung open the windows. …half a day later, after her mother’s nurse was able to locate her personal physician, was the body allowed to be taken to the funeral home. …Such agonizing waits have been occurring with increasing frequency… Exasperated, one town issued a bylaw forbidding its residents to die at home. …In France, the state’s role in regulating people’s daily lives — including in matters of health — remains strong.

Forbidding residents to die at home?!? Maybe the death penalty could act as a deterrent?

Last but not least, here’s a mind-boggling story from the Daily News about Canada.

The College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario stripped a hygienist of his license and labeled him a sex offender because he had a sexual relationship with a client. It didn’t matter that the client was his wife.

Alexandru Tanase, of Guelph, confessed to cleaning the teeth of Sandi Mullins when on several occasions between April 2015 and August 2016, according to the Canada’s CTV news. They were engaged when the treatments started and are now married. …The Canadian hygienist, who said he’s been licensed since 2000, claimed he began booking his wife for cleanings in 2015 after erroneously believing a bill allowing dentists to perform dental work on their significant others also applied to hygienists. …Tanase…wants to change the 26-year-old statute forbidding hygienists from providing oral hygiene services to their spouses.

I can’t resist wondering why there is a decades-old statute prohibiting hygienists from servicing their spouses? Most laws are enacted because some interest group gets in bed with a politician in hopes of obtaining undeserved benefits.

But I can’t figure out the “public choice” angle in this case.