For what it's worth, RAND did some very good things for the US state too! I only mention the work on water resource CBA in passing, but it actually was quite successful in helping attack terrible justifications for wasteful and environmentally harmful dam projects.
This is indeed a masterwork. Frankly it puts my work as a utility analyst and planner in context—the planning I do necessarily sits on complex projections and obscure metrics like the social cost of carbon, and it’s notable that I can blame Robert McNamara for starting that trendline.
I'm not sure if this is more painful to read as a RANDite or as someone who's seen what DOGE actually did. A very helpful piece, certainly. Thank you.
For what it's worth, RAND did some very good things for the US state too! I only mention the work on water resource CBA in passing, but it actually was quite successful in helping attack terrible justifications for wasteful and environmentally harmful dam projects.
This is indeed a masterwork. Frankly it puts my work as a utility analyst and planner in context—the planning I do necessarily sits on complex projections and obscure metrics like the social cost of carbon, and it’s notable that I can blame Robert McNamara for starting that trendline.
Watch out John Brewer, we finally got ourselves an American “Sinews of Power”! Fantastic stuff. Looking forward to reading this.
This is one chapter of John Brewer for us Yankees, at least! Hope you enjoy reading.