A Government of Social and Behavioral Nudges

PoliticallyShort.com ^ | 10/13/2015 | PoliticallyShort

[PoliticallyShort]

On September 15, 2015, Barack Obama signed an Executive Order with the intent on implementing “Behavioral Science Insights to Better Serve the American People.” The Executive Order (EO) is based on a “growing body of evidence demonstrating that behavioral science insights — research findings from fields such as behavioral economics and psychology about how people make decisions and act on them — can be used to design government policies to better serve the American people.”

Furthermore, the EO continues, “Where Federal policies have been designed to reflect behavioral science insights, they have substantially improved outcomes for the individuals, families, communities, and businesses those policies serve. For example, automatic enrollment and automatic escalation in retirement savings plans have made it easier to save for the future, and have helped Americans accumulate billions of dollars in additional retirement savings. Similarly, streamlining the application process for Federal financial aid has made college more financially accessible for millions of students.”

As innocuous as this may sound, the EO is entirely based on the principles, ideas, and concepts developed by the radical behaviorist Cass Sunstein. Sunstein was appointed administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) by Obama back in 2009. While Sunstein resigned in late 2012, his influence was enormous as he was given unprecedented power in reviewing nearly every federal regulation that was passed while he was in office. For example, he reviewed the rules implementing Obamacare as well as the Dodd-Frank financial regulatory reform law. He backed and re-wrote major environmental initiatives, including higher fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks and new toxic emissions rules for power plants.

Sunstein reviewed nearly everything in the vast administrative state while his power was much more significant in dealing with under-the-radar rules and regulations that often went unnoticed.

[smartyaz]

[PoliticallyShort]

Cass Sunstein is the most overlooked and dangerous individual in the entire administration. His influence is enormous

[piasa]

Sunstein was appointed administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) by Obama back in 2009. While Sunstein resigned in late 2012, his influence was enormous as he was given unprecedented power in reviewing nearly every federal regulation that was passed while he was in office.

Husband of Samantha Power of unmasking fame...