No, it’s deliberate, thought out, and not a joke. Run with me on this.
If a bureaucracy wants to show it cares, how does it do so?
#1: Move slowly: International Adoptions take 3 months to 5 years. Security accreditations? Depends if you average in the people who give up.
#2: Require paperwork: Breathtaking amounts of paperwork. Match again.
What are a bureaucracy’s incentives?
#3: Safety: “No” is safe; you can’t be blamed for something going wrong
#4: Delay: Delay is safer than decision. After all, something could go wrong.
#5: More Delay: Not solving the problem makes good economic sense (for the bureaucracy).
#6: Move the goal: If it’s not clear what perfect safety is, keep coming up with things.
The fact that some of the best people you’ll ever meet are involved in these two industries doesn’t change the fact that in these ways and more, the processes aren’t designed to accomplish the actual goal, nor do the incentives pull toward that goal.