Dear Dale,

 

This report highlights shortcomings of the region which - you will agree - are long-standing and well-known.

 

My first (critical) reaction to the report you called to our attention is that most of the analysis could have been done without reference to global-this-and-that.  So we have to ask what the value added is to do more, beyond making more noise, getting more attention, etc.  Here is where the links between the universities and the non-federal jurisdictions and the private sector come into play.  Washington, like some other capital cities or city-regions, is under-performing in this regard.  And this is where Pascal can help, not least because our perspective is to look at the world from several points of view.