Jake, I enjoyed your post. You sound just like I was at around age 36. I had a bagful of scientific knowledge about all sorts of things and an MBA to prove it. I had enjoyed reasonable career success up to then on the basis of analysing the tasks I was given and applying hard work, initiative, common sense and scientific principles. I had even built some safety systems that supplied data to the CAA. as it then was. My motto at the time was "if you can't measure it, then it doesn't exist." I would have approved of your opinion of Glens situation, on the basis that CASA was rational with our best interests at heart, the rules were logical and evidence based, personal considerations were irrelevent and a belief that if you followed the rules you are going to be OK.
I then leapt out of the airline frying pan and into the management consulting fire. Over the next fifteen years I had the stuffing knocked out of me. In a succession of jobs in manufacturing, IT, Government and high tech, I learned a few things; People lie all the time. People steal all the time. People do very stupid things when you least expect it. People make decisions on personal preference to benefit themselves when they should be working to the greater good. Judges and lawyers are not your friend. Contracts are worthless when one side decides they aren't useful to them any more. The "right" answer to a problem doesn't exist most of the time. And rules ? Rules????? make up as many as you like. A smart lawyer or malevolent person will twist rules into knots and get away with it. I've watched perfectly good and hard working people being made scapegoats for terrible crimes. But wait there's more. These days you also have to be politically correct as well and wade through another layer of bullshyte to get anything done.
So Yes, when you hear old farts going on about the state of the nation, they do sound like whingers and whiners to you, as they would once have to me. After all, rules are rules. Follow them and you are OK, right? Life is simple, not only simple, but linear. The old farts are coming from a different perspective. They know how hard, unfair and risky it is for people to try and get things done. Their conversation reflects a deeper knowledge.
Glens model was about helping flying schools cope with a crushing administrative burden inflicted on them by CASA - a noble cause. He is now living proof of the old saying: "No good deed goes unpunished".