Dr Tony Burton: We are better off when the state is less fun

People with office jobs typically find it hard to explain what they do. Government officials are no exception. Government work is like one of the inkblot tests psychologists used to show patients – everyone sees something different. A new report from the New Zealand Initiative, Demystifying the State, is the first of two that look more closely at what happens in the state and how we should think about reforming it.