Jennifer Pahlka Quotes

We're not going to fix government until we fix citizenship.

Are we just going to be a crowd of voices, or are we going to be a crowd of hands?

Government is supposed to be about how we do things together, and we can do that much more together if we use technology smartly right now.

Our ability to do great things with data will make a real difference in every aspect of our lives.

We say that word [bureaucracy] with such contempt. But it's that contempt that keeps this thing that we own and we pay for as something that's working against us.

Government is like a vast ocean and politics is the six-inch layer on top.

Now, a lot of people have given up on government. And if youre one of those people, I would ask that you reconsider, because things are changing. Politics is not changing; government is changing.

We cant do without government, but we do need it to be more effective.

A lot of [bureaucratic] rules were created a long time ago when there were different challenges, and they are now causing negative side effects.

[The Internet generation is] not fighting that battle about who gets to speak; they all get to speak.

You might not think of something like TurboTax as a civic venture, but that product took a confusing interface to a government process and made it simpler and easier to use for citizens.

A neighbor is a far better and cheaper alternative to government services.

We have to make bureaucracy sexy.

If you dont tolerate any risk, you can never innovate.

When there are more males in the industry to begin with, it just has a more male feel, and that pushes the girls away.

When one neighbor helps another, we strengthen our communities.

We have this idea of bureaucracy in local government, and it's generally things that we're frustrated at. It doesn't work the way we like it to work.