Policy Stagnation Quotes

Governments have never learned anything from history, or acted on principles deduced from it.

President Obama can talk about having no grand schemes and making no big gains, but the reality is he can't get anything of significance through Congress.

In every society the permanent government is more change averse than the changing government.

Lobbying, in large part, is conducted to prevent change from happening.

Simply looking at the status quo and suggesting that the tax code is sacrosanct and can never change, and that decisions made in the '80s and '90s can never change, is absurd.

It is hard to stay patient about policy matters where everybody agrees about what needs to be done and then it just doesn't happen, like reforming the immigration system and getting rid of family immigration jails and closing Guantanamo and criminal-justice reform. All these issues, there is basically consensus. There's no rational objections whatsoever, but it can't happen because of other stupid steps we have to take in politics.

I cannot remember a time in opposition - I am talking about the last four years - when we have done less work on policy and more on slogans. But because of my European views I wasn't allowed to participate.

In almost all city governments in America, the small group of people who don't want change are able to block change.

Changing leaders is pointless if the same policies are pursued.

Congress has become so dysfunctional that more and more of a burden is placed on the agencies to fill in the gaps. And the gaps get bigger and bigger because they're not constantly refreshed and tweaked.

Through me the energy policy of the whole Common Market is being held up. Without opening old wounds, it pleases me no end.

So what we have is an American foreign policy that is inextricably linked to domestic matters. It is very dangerous for a politician who desires nothing more than to stay in office to address the mindset that any change in policy is appeasement. And Americans will accept that for a certain amount of time.

Tough times have always lent themselves to nativist sentiments and closed-door policies. But in the case of highly skilled immigrants, these policies are a recipe for stagnation.

We, as a country, have not seen a significant change in immigration policy in nearly two decades, even though all Americans agree that current immigration policy is outdated and malfunctioning.

Lyndon B. Johnson thought he'd have the boys home from Vietnam by Christmas - for four Christmases in a row (he never shifted course, and lost his presidency for it).

In a unity government, it's very difficult to move anything at all.

Part of the problem in politics is that people only look at the next four to eight years: kick the can down the road and say, 'Hey, it's the next person's problem.'

During my seven years and eight months as chief Cabinet secretary, I noticed that when policies are slow to move forward, it's usually because of bureaucrats' sectionalism and a penchant for sticking with precedents.