Cass Sunstein Quotes

The more the government plans fail, the more the planners plan.

Nothing lasts longer than a temporary government program.

The persistence of public officials varies inversely with the importance of the matter on which they are persisting

Generally speaking, government programs have the reverse result from the goal.

Government should do a few things, and do them right

[Peter] Drucker says that modern government can do only two things well: wage war and inflate the currency. Its the aim of my administration to prove Mr Drucker wrong.

In our complex world, there cannot be fruitful initiative without government, but unfortunately there can be government without initiative.

Every effort needs to be made to try and offset the costs of Katrina and Rita by reductions in other government programs, especially those that are wasteful, duplicative and ineffective.

I was elected to come to an incredibly dysfunctional capital and make the government work better, and that's what I'm doing.

No one has yet succeeded in reducing the size or scope of the federal government.

Most of the energy devoted to political work is devoted to correcting the effects of mismanagement of government.

Government at every level failed the Katrina victims.

No government at any level has all the answers.

As we seek to improve the management of the federal government, we should keep in mind that the government is not a private corporation. What may make sense for a large corporation may not always make sense for the federal government. In our quest for efficiency, we must not lose sight of the reasons why we enacted certain federal programs in the first place.

It has been my philosophy all my life that good government is good politics.

The essence of government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse

Those of you who end up in public service will come to appreciate the difficulty of wielding the extraordinary power of the government effectively and fairly. Much of this power is housed in the many departments and agencies that are charged with carrying out specific functions of government. Those who do not have daily interactions with a government agency may not realize just how much influence bureaucracies wield.

The question today is not whether the government is too small or too small, but whether or not it works

The question of our time is rapidly becoming can government get things done?

The very essence of a free government consists in considering offices as public trusts, bestowed for the good of the country, and not for the benefit of an individual or party.

A surprising number of government committees will make important decisions on fundamental matters with less attention than each individual would give to buying a suit.

Government is not guaranteed to work right.

I think everybody in Washington could use a curfew, to be honest.

Residents expect their state leaders to deliver solutions for the people of their state.

I have been a civil servant and a politician for over 30 years.