Certainly in terms of knowledge dissemination, the cuts to the policy capacity both inside government and outside government are significant. When you're talking about a new economy, a knowledge economy, you need to know before you can act. Particularly in areas where government is spending a great deal of money--billions and billions of taxpayer dollars--it's very important to have some wisdom and knowledge before you actually intervene.
On October 17th, 2006. See this statement in context.