Richard K. Betts Quotes

We must do our best to shape the future. But we must not wish away the dangers of the present.

Historically, decisive security action took place only after a disaster had occurred or a specific plot had been discovered.

I do not think we can get any legislation this session for extension of land grants unless we pay more for it than it is worth.

Nothing is harder in politics than to do something now that costs money and will not benefit us until several years from now.

Armchair generals assume that nations decide on their foreign policy objectives and then subordinate everything else to achieving them. Life is more complicated. Threats, opportunities and risks are always uncertain, but the economic costs of maximum preparedness are definite.

Anything can be justified by security.

Throwing money after security turns out to be a classic example of the law of diminishing marginal utility.

If individuals have no sufficient reason to believe that a good situation today will have adverse long-term consequences, it must always be rational for them to aim to maximize their short-term good.

Austerity [in the Defense Department] meant that risks had to be managed, not eliminated.

There is a cost for investing in pandemic preparedness, but a much bigger cost for not investing in it.

We ought to prioritize national disasters... in a fiscally responsible way.

I compensate for big risks by always doing my homework and being well-prepared. I can take on larger risks by reducing the overall risk.

I'm trying to construct a world that maximises the probability that SpaceX continues its mission without me.

As the CEO, I have to take care of the short term, mid term and the long term.

Too many families and homes remain unnecessarily vulnerable to natural disasters like hurricanes. While mitigation will never eliminate the risk to homeowners, it could reduce loss and, in many cases, save a family's home. For every $1 spent on mitigation, $4 in post-storm cleanup and rebuilding is saved.

There is such a desire to give everybody a piece, we're probably wasting a great deal of homeland security money trying to be politically correct, when we really need to make sure that our cities get the money they need.

But I think the bottom line right now is to take the constructive criticism and use that to build toward, as I say, the hurricane season that is 100 days away. And we don't have a lot of time to waste before we start to address that next set of challenges.

We shouldn't just live for today; we should prepare for tomorrow.

In the U.K., there's absolutely no money for television. So you can do pretty much whatever you want. They're not losing money on any of the shows, so they'll give you a lot of creative freedom. In the United States, there are millions and millions of dollars at stake, so they need a sure formula.

They realize that spending millions to save billions is just good business.

I think it's very important not to confuse the importance of dealing with Social Security in the long term with these short-term deficit reduction challenges. They're different issues.

Management is all about managing in the short term, while developing the plans for the long term.

Let's not go through that again. Redirect it, reduce the amount of money spent, but let's not destroy it. Because you don't know 10 years out what you're going to face.

The safety of the people is the first and foremost responsibility of government… We are not as prepared as we should be with our public safety network…. The margin for error is exceedingly and uniquely low.

I fear, my Lords, it is too much the temper of this country to be insensible of the approach of danger, until it comes with accumulated terror upon us.