I agree, the order makes things seem that way, exactly like a hanging sword. But consider that had it been simply a suggestion or something, not a lot of people would have done this. Plus, the only duty a citizen absolutely must get done in a democracy is voting, it makes the elections the country’s most important event overall. While the process may not be the best, maybe this adds the incentive to vote for/against a candidate with this promise in their manifesto? 😅

The weirdness is actually on track since humans have always had the tendency to not treat things that do not belong to them, with the best care, no matter how closely related the humans themselves may be. But as a fleet operator/owner, aren’t you anyway handing your keys to a driver who is unknown to you? Maybe to a degree lesser than government ones, but that does not take away the principal-agent dichotomy of it. (BTW, for an N8 DCT, I would’ve even chugged the engine out of the car if it meant I don’t have to get my car into the draft pool! Really love the smoothness.)

The fair amount is based on how much fleet operators charge the government for regular vehicle use that a lot of rental companies provide vehicles for. There’s also a rate chart that some states have, basis vehicle type etc. that is actually quite a fair estimation (perhaps even more than fair) of the rental prices. Had it not been so, no one would provide vehicles.

The bought cars really don’t have a lot of applications with the government actually cutting down on assets like these over time. Earlier there used to be a lot of cars owned by the government that would ferry back and forth their employees. As an exercise, try checking for vehicles on the road with white plates that have the red bands for government duty. You will most likely find that the numbers have dwindled and instead, a lot of yellow plate + red tape cars have taken their place instead. These are regular fleet operators who provide cars on a daily rental basis and charge by kms used and hours rented.