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Christopher Hanks's avatar

Good stuff, Nick. I've recommended A Grifter's Paradise to four friends who I think will appreciate it. -chris h.

p.s. for my latest emission on my DoD hobby, see:

https://fasab.gov/board-activities/documents-for-comment/2024-annual-report/

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Nick Schwellenbach's avatar

Thanks, Christopher! As your FASAB comment indicates, we're partly in this mess today because of some fundamental misunderstandings. It's not that there isn't waste, fraud, and abuse to address, but assuming that one tool that makes sense in one context makes sense in a very different one is a recipe for a lot of wasted time, and even more wasted money. I suppose we shouldn't underestimate the persistence of magical thinking.

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Christopher Hanks's avatar

Yes, yes - your reaction and comment is exactly right. And yes, if magical thinking is not nipped in the bud but rather allowed to persist and keep going on, it becomes increasingly harder, if not impossible, to turn it around.

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