The government hamster wheel. It is a phrase I came up with when I started serving on government boards. I also used it while I served in office. It is the perfect description of the abyss a person or applicant falls into when they get involved in government processes.

Getting onto the hamster wheel comes from many paths but is always originates from a decision to put you there. It could be an indecisive government employee who is afraid to make an administrative decision because they fear for their job or the publicity. It could be an employee who has an agenda and decides that no decision will make the world right. It could be an employee who is overworked and puts you on the wheel because they can’t handle your issue right now. Or it could be an employee who decides that they will wait you out, that you will grow tired of running on the wheel and quit.