Feb 1 2022 - Red Tape and Valentines

 

February is the month where the colour red is dominant.  We distract ourselves from winter with Valentine's Day - the contrast of red for Valentines with the white of winter.   There's a headline in the New York Times about red states having red tape with regards to COVID regulations.  What is red tape? Wikipedia comes to the front of the line, as usual:  "It is generally believed that the term originated with the Spanish administration of Charles V, King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor, in the early 16th century, who started to use red tape in an effort to modernize the administration that was running his vast empire. The red tape was used to bind the most important administrative dossiers that required immediate discussion by the Council of State, and separate them from issues that were treated in an ordinary administrative way, which were bound with ordinary string." Red tape has become known as excessive, rigid, redundant rules or standards, usually implemented by governments, corporations and other large organizations.  A bureaucracy is needed to administer these - paper work, licenses, multiple people or committees approving a decision, and so on.   Cutting red tape is the expression for reducing the burden of regulations.  This seems like an "opening up" of processes and ways of doing things. We've missed it slightly as it was celebrated from January 25th to January 29th in Canada.   There is far less concern in the U.S. on red tape.  No red tape week or reduction initiatives.  The U.S. ranks # 6 on ease of doing business, whereas Canada ranks #23.  Both are classified as "very easy", but the U.S. is right near the top. Wikipedia has the survey HERE.  Where is it easiest?  New Zealand. What the N.Y. Times briefing this morning says is interesting:  that the coronavirus vaccine mandate has red tape consequences in states like Florida and Texas where there are low taxes and light regulation.  These companies are now dealing with lots of red tape when it comes to COVID policies and are not able to implement any mandates. How curious things seem to be in reverse of what one would think. Here's our February calendar - this is a macro of tree bark.  To me it looks like an Arctic abstract without actually having snow in the picture.

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