Honestly, in my experience - wishing for common sense and latitude in public officials.<p>I <i>know</i> its fun to rag on public officials on Internet forums.  But <i>most</i> of the ones I know have been fairly decent people who are just doing their jobs.  There're a few bad apples, but there're a few bad apples in any population.  Even the TSA officials (which gets my vote for "worst government bureaucracy") were very apologetic when they confiscated my toothpaste.<p>I think that you're more likely to get absurd institutional behavior - like confiscating toothpaste - when you <i>deny</i> latitude in employee judgment.  The TSA screeners have this massive rulebook that they have to follow, and they risk losing their job when they deviate from it, even if they personally believe the rules are stupid.<p>Same with the private sector.  Companies that have the best reputations tend to be those that empower their employees to solve the customer's problem, like Virgin or Nordstroms.  Companies with the worst reputations tend to be those where the employees can't do anything but follow the playbook, like most telecoms.