Bureaucracy

What a horrible word. I even had to look it up in the dictionary because I new I wasn't spelling it right.

I know this blog is supposed to be explicitly political, but it's 4:30 in the morning and its the fault of the Italian bureaucracy that I'm not in bed now sleeping.

Italy is famous for it's layers and layers of bureaucracy. The thick bureaucracy and tons of legislation that go along with it are actually the products of attempts to protect citizens in the early days of the Italian Republic from the arbitrary authority of the state.

This protection has grown into an oppressive monster whose prey I have become.

In Italy there are three levels of bureaucracy: the central state bureaucracy, state agencies and para-state agencies. (Note: this last term has nothing to do with the term "para-military.") Many times these bureaucracies have overlapping jurisdictions; almost always they create needless hassle, paperwork and generally slow things down tremendously: whether it's applying for a visa or starting a new business, the bureaucracy is a drag.

My beef right now is with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the the Ministry of Public Instruction. I think my case is indicative.

Last August (2003) I went to Bologna, Italy to study. I had originally planned on doing an undergraduate history degree (on the advice of a bureaucrat), but then found out from a professor that I was eligible to apply for a Master's Degree in Cooperative Economics.

Given that I wanted to study cooperative economics, and that I had already done four years of college as a history major and didn't really want to repeat my undergraduate degree, this seemed like the best option.

But all was not destined to run smoothly (is it ever when you have to deal with the Italian bureaucracy?).

We quickly ran into a problem. With the new university reform, was an American Bachelor's degree enough to get you into a Master? So to find out, the University called the Italian Consulate in the United States. The Consulate in Houston, Texas!

I would like to remind readers that the current President of the United States is from Texas, since 1982 they have executed 323 people, and, despite a recent Supreme Court ruling, refuse to ban the execution of the mentally retarded.

Couldn't they have picked another consulate to ask advice of?

Regardless, the consulate was absolutely sure: there was no way that my Bachelor's degree would allow me to do the Master's program.

So I went ahead and enrolled as a history student, paid the first half of the tuition and started about the process of getting my credits from school here transferred over there.

Then, about a month after I had paid tuition and it was too late to apply for the Master's, I called up the person who had contacted the Houston Consulate about the Master's program. "Oh, you, you're the American," she said. "I owe you an apology, I screwed you out of a year."

Huh?

So, yeah, it turns out the Houston, Texas consulate is not so reliable after all. Turns out that I could have, indeed, done the Master's program.

Funny how a Bachelor's degree will get you into a Master's program in the United States and in Italy.

I stayed calm, though. Took a few deep breaths and thought it through. "This isn't that bad, I've got the visa for a year, so why not hang out in Bologna and do the Master's next year?"

Turns out that was the best possible scenario. I got a great job as a "Junior Researcher" at the Institute for Labor in Bologna and got a chance to be a tour guide/interpreter for the wonderful Bologna Summer Program for Cooperative Studies.

By the time the school year came to an end, I decided to find out exactly what I had to do to apply for the Master's program. Any guesses as to the process? (Remember, at this point I'm still living in Bologna; interestingly enough not too far from the University of Bologna!)

Turns out that to apply for the Master's program I have to fly home, hand in the application at the Italian Consulate so that they can put it in an envelope and send it back to the University of Bologna.

Makes sense, right?

Well, the plane ticket only cost $1,200. Then there's the fact that I have to take a month off from work--even more, perhaps, if all doesn't go smoothly.

There being no other option I, of course, decided to play their little game.

I withdrew from the history program about a week ago, collected all the papers and documentation from the registrar that I needed to apply to the Master's and got on the plane to come back home.

Yesterday morning, Wednesday July 28, I woke up suddenly in a panic. I realized that I was missing some of the documentation necessary to apply for the Master's!

I quickly checked my accordion folder (aka "Nerd Pack") where I keep all this kind of stuff and, sure enough, the translation of the course descriptions and my college diploma were not there.

My level of panic increased slightly at this point. With all of the self-contained Jack Bauer rage I could muster, I thought, "Son of a bitch!" Then I realized there was nothing I could do at that moment, because Italy is six hours ahead of New York and all the offices were closed. A phone call to the registrar would have to wait until 2 AM New York time.

I finally got through to the registrar's office around 3:00 AM my time. They asked me to send a fax requesting the missing documents. After having sent the fax, I called my heroic friend, co-worker and housemate, Davide Dazzi, and asked if he would be willing to go pick up the documents and FedEx them to my house. With his help, and a little luck, things just might work out.

It's now 6:43 AM, I'm really starting to go batty, but I think we might be close to mission accomplished. They're just finishing sending over the faxes. I think the story wil have a happy ending.

Nonetheless, this was all 100% avoidable.

I have a few concrete suggestions for action: (1) to simply create a procedure for foreign students, living in Italy who are currently attending university in Italy who want to change from one program to another, that allows them to apply directly to the University, in person. This procedure already exists for folks working in Italy who also want to study; (2) now this second suggestion is a little bit more radical: each agency should have one person, or a team of people, whose job it is, in close consultation with the principle stakeholders (citizens and civil servants) to figure out the simplest, most efficient way of doing something.

Of course, my encounters with the bureaucracy are small compared to what many others have had to endure. When citizens, small businesses (and the Right) complain about the oppressive nature of the Italian state, they are not wrong. This is an issue the Left needs to aggressively address and co-opt from the Right by proposing a radical, progressive vision for bureaucratic reform.

Okay, so, maybe this was explicitly political.