All bureaucrats want to maximize authority/power and minimize liability/responsibility. That is why they try to expand their departments. That's also why by default they tend to say no to every request.
The bureaucrats principles
Managers in the public sector or an ageing institute do not have incentives such as making money for their institute. They have their personal goals, but all of their personal goals can be achieved by:
- (a) Maximizing their own authority / power; and
- (b) Minimizing their own liability / responsibility
Expansion is joy
That's why all managers in the public sector or an ageing institute want to expand their departments. By employing more subordinates, they increase their power. They can also reduce their own responsibility: hey only manage others to do the jobs; they don't have to do risky (in terms of liability) jobs. Should anything goes wrong, they can blame their subordinates. The more subordinates they have, the more people they can blame.
No novelty please
Suppose a choir asks the government officials for permission to perform in the street. The officials will naturally think of the worst scenarios. Should anything goes wrong, anyone who gives the permission for the event to go ahead will have to take the blame. It costs them nothing to say no. So naturally they would say no.
Easier to apologize than to get permission
The chance is: if the choir does perform in the street, no official will see it as their responsibility to challenge it or stop it. If any official should stop the performance, few will take the trouble to take further actions (such as prosecution) unless something has gone horribly wrong. This is because taking further actions involves unnecessary risk. What if such actions go wrong (e.g. attract public criticism)? According to principle (b) above, they are likely to take no action.
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