Every time I hear people talk about a paperless society I laugh inside. The more electronically sophisticated our world becomes, the more important paperwork becomes.
Of course there is plenty of soft copy, or electronic, paperwork. Emails, texts, PDF copies of documents. Yet, actual hard copy paperwork will never go away. In fact, all signs point to it growing.
The wife and I currently have over two filing cabinets filled with paperwork, plus assorted smaller piles on a desk.
I go to the dentist and they submit my insurance claim online, yet I get a hard copy to keep, not an e-copy sent to me.
My doctor does prescriptions on her computer, but then prints them. Not, as one would think should be easy, emailed to my pharmacy of choice.
Buy a vehicle. A small tree is murdered by the time you get the keys.
Some stores now email receipts, but you still get a hard copy at the check out.
I get a notice in the mail to renew my burn permit with the city. I fill it out, go the the local office and they print a new one out for me to keep along with my little fridge magnet with my permit number. No, it cannot be done online or added to my taxes. I hate the inefficiency of governments and their bureaucracies, but that is a story for another time. Hey, at least dope will be legal next year. (>_<)
Licence renewals. In additional to all licences being hard copy in the first place, paper notices are mailed and not sent electronically. Except oddly, my firearms licence, I now get an email. Another weird exception? My hunting and fishing licence. Apparently, I need to keep on top of it to get it renewed, as the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry - Ontario, does not tell you your licence is expiring. I can renew these suckers online too. You would think those permits would be buried in a mountain of paper. And of course you get a hard copy of them, but I can print a temporary copy of my hunting/fishing tag until my shiny new card comes in the mail.
Accountants print everything. And they keep it for years.
If I have a contract, I make sure I have a paper copy. I want it captured in one moment in time and always available.
Money. Largely paper. Even with credit cards, emts, paypal, etc., true electronic money is still a long way off. Besides, I want cash, precious metals, gems, plutonium, chickens, what have you, in physical form to pay my way. Not that that really happens, but it is a dream of mine.
Scouts. The masters of paperwork. To do an event that has any element of risk, no less than four forms are required, an emergency plan (sometimes more than one), participant and volunteer registration forms that are filled in electronically at the beginning of the year and are not formatted for printing, attendance lists, sometimes travel insurance.
All.
In.
Hard.
Copy!
That is in addition to all the emailing that would go back and forth. If any third parties are involved, then there will be at least one to three additional forms. Go international? More forms, plus passports, health cards, blah, blah, blah.
All.
In.
Hard.
Copy!!
So, with all this paper everywhere, why do people not know how to do it. With Scouts, if I am am leading an event, I often have to send the e-copies multiple times to participants for them to be filled out. No real biggie. I have unlimited internet and I am pretty sure multiple emails generally do not murder trees. Make them cry maybe, but not kill them.
So, after sending out the paperwork multiple times, why do I not get all of it? Or any of it? Or it is not filled in completely or correctly? These people have done this before.
So, I used to print extra copies for people to fill out on the spot to cover my ass. Well guess what? When I started that, I never needed them. I became a tree assassin. So, I stopped. Then I stopped getting everything that was required.
People ask me why so much paperwork. Well, as I have informed the Scouts in our Troop: Paperwork makes the world go round. Some people bitch and moan. Hey, not my fault. Just following rules and regulations, the law, and what my advanced Scouter training taught me.
Ha, ha, ha. I literally just got an email from Scouts Canada for a document renewal. Ha, ha, ha, ha. See, paperwork makes the world go round. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. At least this appears to be e-paperwork. No trees will be harmed in the signing of this document, except for maybe their feelings.
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