(2006-02-25) Gladwell Power Law Public Policy

Malcolm Gladwell on the Public Policy implications of Power Law situations. Most of the problems/costs (Police Brutality, Welfare, HealthCare) are created by a small number of "offenders". That's what made the findings of the Christopher Commission so unsatisfying. We put together blue-ribbon panels when we're faced with problems that seem too large for the normal mechanisms of bureaucratic repair. We want sweeping reforms. But what was the commission's most memorable observation? It was the story of an officer with a known history of doing things like beating up handcuffed suspects who nonetheless received a performance review from his superior stating that he "usually conducts himself in a manner that inspires respect for the law and instills public confidence." This is what you say about an officer when you haven't actually read his file, and the implication of the Christopher Commission's report was that the LAPD might help solve its problem simply by getting its police captains to read the files of their officers. The LAPD's problem was a matter not of policy but of compliance. I find it ironic that he considers this bad news. Only if you want BigGov getting bigger. This is actually good news because it means you don't need the damn "blue-ribbon panel" and sweeping reforms, etc. - you just need to figure out how to handle the Hard Case-s. Which should be more amenable to Piece Meal Social Engineering, and maybe sometimes just a dose of the Transparent Society. (Of course, the risk that your explanation/solution is too simple, and thus wrong/misleading/useless. The Blame Game.)