> Ultimately there is then nothing to stop political expediency overriding facts and understanding, and the elected representatives are free to discard the opin

> Ultimately there is then nothing to stop political expediency overriding facts and understanding, and the elected representatives are free to discard the opinions of the SMEs no matter how valid or correct they might be. Sadly, I've "seen" this (first- and second-hand) happen even with private-sector managers. When it happens to me, I always wonder, why did they bother to hire us (relatively expensive) experts in the first place? I've heard tell on HN of "engineering first" company cultures where decisions are supposedly made based (exclusively, when possible) on objective criteria, but I have yet to see it at companies above a certain size.