Amy Zegart Quotes
We can get distracted in arguing which of the two alternatives is better when either are far better than the situation we have today.
Amy Zegart, Political Scientist, Senate Committee Testimony, Improving Intelligence August 18, 2004
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Although most consider Keynes a liberal, in many areas he was very conservative, and this is one. He opposed change and reform unless the degree of benefit would be very large. He is one of the few reformers who appreciated that there was a cost to society for making any change in that people are discomforted by change, and then there is the potential “evil” of the unintended consequences of the transition period.
His only educational experience was as the NYC Chancellor and the situation he describes was the case there and at many other locations in the country. However, there are some school systems where these forces have locally aligned some years ago and they have great school systems. In a few cases (like Montgomery County, Maryland) the great school system was produced without any alignment of power. They have one of the highest rates of terminating teachers who are not good, but it is the Union which makes the decisions.
The NSA in defending their program stated that they were looking for a “needle in a hay stack”. Logically, her criticism would seem to make great sense. However, the new computer technology makes looking for “needles” very fast and inexpensive. Therefore, they argue, the size of the haystack does not matter.
Silberman-Robb WMD Commission
Amy Zegart (born 1967) is an American academic. She serves as the co-director of the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) at Stanford University; a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution; and professor of political economy (by courtesy) at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
