Retriever sends along a BBC article about Greek
government workers losing a benefit they used to get. In 1989, the government wanted to encourage computer use. I imagine there was some thought of making sure it was a tech-savvy place that could keep up in the world economy. They also paid a bonus for showing up for work. As if the people who lied for you to get your original salary were going to balk somehow at lying to get you your bonus.
They awarded six extra holidays to those who spent more than five hours a day on a computer. Presumably, if this wasn't a complete waste right from the beginning, it became one within a decade as people discovered that the internet could be used for exchanging pictures of cats.
A small but excellent example of how government tinkering with stuff, if it does any good at all, does so at a high, unintended, cost.
