For as long as I can remember, I have heard anti-government pundits sneer “The federal government can’t even deliver a letter across town!”. I have never understood why this is an applause line, given that delivering letters is something government generally does exceedingly well.
In Britain, many people don’t put return addresses on their letters because their confidence in the Royal Mail is so high. Here’s an endearing demonstration that that confidence is well-placed. Despite the vagueness of the address, the Royal Mail quickly got the letter to the desired recipient.
Author: Keith Humphreys
Keith Humphreys is the Esther Ting Memorial Professor of Psychiatry at Stanford University and an Honorary Professor of Psychiatry at Kings College London. His research, teaching and writing have focused on addictive disorders, self-help organizations (e.g., breast cancer support groups, Alcoholics Anonymous), evaluation research methods, and public policy related to health care, mental illness, veterans, drugs, crime and correctional systems. Professor Humphreys' over 300 scholarly articles, monographs and books have been cited over thirteen thousand times by scientific colleagues. He is a regular contributor to Washington Post and has also written for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Monthly, San Francisco Chronicle, The Guardian (UK), The Telegraph (UK), Times Higher Education (UK), Crossbow (UK) and other media outlets.
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