self-licking ice cream cone n. a process, department, institution, or other thing that offers few benefits and exists primarily to justify or perpetuate its own existence. Also in the form self-licking lollipop. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Book recommendations and the art of apology. Martha and Grant share some good reads, including an opinionated romp through English grammar, a Spanish-language adventure novel, an account of 19th-century dictionary wars, and a gorgeously illustrated...
Stunt performers in movies have their own jargon for talking about their dangerous work. In New York City, the slang term brick means “cold,” and dumb brick means “really cold.” Plus: the East and Central African tradition...
There’s a reference to this term in Richard Clarke’s book Against All Enemies. Right after the 9/11 attacks, Clarke and another staffer were walking between buildings at the White House: the other one said to Clarke “there’s your self-licking ice-cream cone” (in this case he meant ‘now that these attacks have happened, we’ll finally get some attention on bin Laden, al Qaeda, etc. In other words, our relevance is more than obvious now.’ Note the slightly different use than those cites above.)