In the News

Evidence comes under attack

Author Harry Stein discusses how Congress is trying to undermine positive growth in evidence-based policymaking by defunding vital data-collecting agencies.

“Every man has a right to his own opinion,” investor Bernard Baruch said in 1950, “but no man has a right to be wrong in his facts.”

Politicians are, of course, sometimes wrong on the facts, but the federal government is actually making significant progress to bring hard evidence into the policymaking process. It might sound obvious, but it’s actually one of the most promising ideas in governance: “evidence-based policymaking,” the use of credible research to drive public policy, and independent evaluation to decide which government programs work, and which don’t.

The above excerpt was originally published in Politico. Click here to view the full article.

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Authors

Harry Stein

Director, Fiscal Policy

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