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From:
Subject: Re: [APG] SS-5 cost increase
Date: Sat, 30 Jun 2001 00:51:48 EDT

Timothy C. Coyne wrote:

<< Infrastructure does not bloat. >>

That statement is inconsistent with Parkinson's discovery over a generation
ago, that every bureaucracy increases in size at an average annual rate
between 5.17 percent and 6.56 percent, irrespective of any variation in the
amount of work (if any) to be performed. C Northcote Parkinson, *Parkinson:
The Law Complete* (New York: Ballantine Books, 1970), pp. 11-12.

As for indirect or overhead costs, they represent actual spending, whether
bloated or not, and the only reasonable way to reimburse for them is to
fairly allocate them among the units of real work performed. If the work
output increases at a higher rate than the annual increase in overhead, then
the indirect cost per unit will decrease. Otherwise it's inevitable that the
per-unit indirect cost will increase over time--and more so if the output
decreases.

In the example cited, each child attending a non-public school saves the
school district the direct cost of educating that child, principally
teachers' salaries and space costs, but it raises the per-pupil cost of
educating those left, since the district's indirect costs must be spread
among a smaller number.

We're fortunate the SS-5 workload had increased so greatly, because if it
hadn't, the Social Security Administration's indirect costs would have to be
divided among fewer units of real work, resulting in even higher
reimbursement fees.

Donn Devine, CG, CGI
2004 Kentmere Pkwy, Wilmington DE 19806-2014, USA
Phone 302/656-7233 FAX 302/656-0315

CG, Certified Genealogist, CGI, and Certified Genealogical Instructor are
service marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, used under
license by board-certified associates after periodic competency evaluations,
and the board name is registered in the USP&TO.

This thread:

• [APG] SS-5 cost increase by "Timothy C. Coyne" <>

  • Re: [APG] SS-5 cost increase by