The Government’s New Favorite Hobby: Making You Wait Forever
Turns out the hardest part of getting help from the government isn't proving you need it, it's surviving the paperwork.
Applying for benefits is basically an extreme sport where the finish line keeps moving. Annie Lowrey calls it the 'Time Tax,' which is a polite way of saying the system is designed to break your spirit before you get a single cent.
You spend hours on hold, navigate sites that look like they were built in 1998, and fill out forms that ask for your blood type and your third-grade teacher's middle name. The cruel irony is that those who need help the most are the ones least equipped to navigate this bureaucratic maze. It is almost like they want people to just give up and go away.
When the state treats citizens like a nuisance to be managed rather than people to be helped, trust goes out the window.
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