Bureaucracy is necessary, and taxes are neutral. Well-managed taxes can be much better than having money in your pocket, but poorly managed taxes burn a hole in your pocket.
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That said, today, at least in Europe, where I live, bureaucrats are burning taxpayer money with the sole purpose of financing the clientelism that keeps them in power.
We constantly hear that more resources are needed if we want quality public services. But this isn't true, since money, or as they call it, resources, is a means to achieve things, not an end in itself. If you double the salaries of all healthcare personnel, you'll double the spending, but in no way will you improve care or waiting lists. You'll achieve that if you hire more staff and make them work.
Absenteeism among civil servants in my country is around 10%. If you reduce this ratio, you'll also improve the service without spending a cent. I could go on with examples all day, but the idea is clear: we don't need more resources, just better use of them. And that, in theory, is the only job of politicians.
