Quotes, bon mots, and noteworthy utterances from the campus and beyond
28 January 2009
"It's not hardball politics, it may not be the best move for the economy in the short run, and it's a gamble."
Professor of Public Policy Robert Reich, on the prospect that Barack Obama might reduce the size of the coming stimulus package so that debt-averse GOP and "blue-dog" Democratic legislators would support it.
Marketplace, Jan. 21
"Somehow, it just doesn't penetrate that the net price is not the sticker price."
UC President Mark Yudof, in discussing his proposed Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan (see News Briefs), explaining that low-income applicants for admission and their high-school advisers often are unfamiliar with the levels of financial support available to UC students.
Contra Costa Times, Jan. 22
"[He] has had more influence than any other contemporary writer on mainstream American thinking about what we eat."
From a description of Professor of Journalism Michael Pollan, author of several books on the industrial food system and its discontents.
Forbes.com, Jan. 22
"It is difficult to predict the next threat that will arise, let alone catch it when it does."
Berkeley law faculty members Ken Bamberger and Andrew Guzman, calling for U.S. importers and distributors of Chinese-made goods (such as "lead-laced toys, melamine-spiked baby formula, and poisoned pharmaceuticals") to be responsible for consumer-safety issues stemming from their importation and sale.
San Jose Mercury-News, Jan. 26
"Market-based incentives and morality can work in combination, not in competition."
Professor of Law Christopher Kutz, proposing that corporate stock options for executives include a "liabiity component" that would penalize them for poor performance. Kutz wrote as one of 14 Berkeley faculty contributors to the rollout of Berkeley Law's new "Blue Sky" website, which aggregates "new ideas for the Obama administration."
"Now is a great time to start something new. The opportunity cost is low."
Vice Chancellor Frank Yeary, a former investment banker himself, looking on the bright side of the financial crisis as it has affected Wall Street's top moneymakers since the market collapse.
New York Times, Jan. 26