Can the Government Actually Play Moneyball?

Probably not--the politicians, the lobbyists, the public unions--too many toes to step on--too many hogs at the trough:

How Government Can Actually Play Moneyball | New Republic: "Bridgeland and Orszag’s question is worth considering. Can the government play moneyball? They argue that the federal government, operating in a climate of austerity not experienced for decades, should invest in empirical studies to determine the most efficient ways to spend the government’s money, thereby saving taxpayers over the long run. This is similar, they contend, to when the cash-strapped Athletics turned to the data-driven empiricism of sabermetrics, “replacing scouts’ traditional beliefs and biases about players with data-intensive studies of what skills actually contribute most to winning.” In other words: Find out what the best practices are, and adopt them."

Good idea though.

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