Sounds like another Catch 22. As Milo Minderbinder said "Nothin' better."

Intelligent people do not become bureaucrats. If you are a bureaucrat, you do not have to think. You have a rule book which defines all of your thoughts and actions. These rules make it very easy to say no to any request which does not completely fit the definitions in the book. The lack of discretion is like the difference between an administrator and an executive. Unfortunately, too many executives rise to their positions from being bureaucrats and have had any possible originality beaten out of them. They have been inculcated with the bureaucratic mind set and are only able to work with their former colleagues.

I hope this explanation of what happened to the poor sonovabitch is satisfactory.

PS, almost of the legal system is designed this way also.