Schumpeter | Fixing the Republic

摘要

In 2002 this columnist visited the Department of Motor Vehicles (dmv) in Washington, dc, to renew his driving licence. The queue moved at a glacial pace. The staff alternated between hostile and indifferent. There were lengthy forms to fill in, six documents to produce, confusing instructions and, hanging over everything, the warning that any false answer is a crime. One man said he had sent his paperwork by fax only to be told that the dmv does not accept faxed documents. Then why do you provide a fax number, he asked? "We do it as a courtesy."