The Observer and the Decider

I stumbled upon the US's Transportation Research Board's website, and it struck my fancy that there are thousands of people employed in an industry that the governments of East Africa (see previous post) don't believe necessary: data collection.

The industry of transportation analysis appears more booming than I ever imagined. Data gathering, reports, and monthly conferences are all the endpoint of apparently substantial quantities of public investment.

We read numbers and ridership levels and five-year outlooks, but for what? The power of a study lies in the recommendation that it spurs — without the recommendation the study becomes impotent.

Of course the purpose of a study is to provide empirical evidence, but without further action all we have is words. Words spoken to millions are still just words.

None will know so much to do with evidence, as those that provide it in the first place. Thus the observer must also become the decider.

To be the most effective, the electorate should hand over the role of decisionmaking to the people that understand the situation best — the analysts. I think it should the analysts' decision to take action. But perhaps this is stepping out of the bounds of expectation.