---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: National governments are under paid…"
description: "\"National governments are under paid, under staffed, and under talented.\" — Terence McKenna"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed7/terence-mckenna-287_government_national-governments-are-under-paid-unde_2003128.png"
---

#  National governments are under paid, under staffed, and…

![“National governments are under paid, under staffed, and under talented.” quote by Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed7/terence-mckenna-287_government_national-governments-are-under-paid-unde_2003128.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed7/terence-mckenna-287_government_national-governments-are-under-paid-unde_2003128.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed7/terence-mckenna-287_government_national-governments-are-under-paid-unde_2003128.png)

> “National governments are under paid, under staffed, and under talented.”

[Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Governments lack sufficient funding, staff, and talent to meet modern challenges.

**In simple terms:** Governments are under‑resourced and under‑skilled.

Key Takeaway

Advocate for better funding and talent recruitment.

Themes

governance resource scarcity talent management

Mood

concerned critical

Type

analytical reflective

When to use this quote

- policy reform
- budget planning
- human resources
- NGO partnerships

Key Concepts

public administration capacity building human capital

Questions to Reflect On

- How can we attract top talent to public service?
- What reforms best improve efficiency?

A Different Perspective

Even with more resources, bureaucratic inertia may limit effectiveness.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Governments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/governments/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/)

## Related quotes

> [Nations it may be have fashioned their Governments, but the Governments have paid them back in the same coin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/nations-it-may-be-have-fashioned-their-governments-but-the/)

[Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/)

> [Mankind's problems can no longer be solved by national governments. What is needed is world government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-tinbergen/mankind-s-problems-can-no-longer-be-solved-by-national-governments/)

Jan Tinbergen

> [News and images move so easily across borders that attitudes and aspirations are no longer especially national. Cyber-weapons, no longer the exclusive province of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reich/news-and-images-move-so-easily-across-borders-that-attitudes-and/)

[Robert Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reich/)

> [Whether Canada ends up as o-ne national government or two national governments or several national governments, or some other kind of arrangement is, quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-harper/whether-canada-ends-up-as-o-ne-national-government-or-two-national-2/)

[Stephen Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-harper/)

> [My observation on most people in national governments is that they have very little interest in and very little knowledge of the multinational institutions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolfensohn/my-observation-on-most-people-in-national-governments-is-that-they/)

[James Wolfensohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolfensohn/)

> [Whether Canada ends up as o­ne national government or two national governments or several national governments, or some other kind of arrangement is, quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-harper/whether-canada-ends-up-as-o-ne-national-government-or-two-national/)

[Stephen Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-harper/)

> [If terror groups are to be defeated, it is national governments that will have to do so. In nations like India, governments will have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-terror-groups-are-to-be-defeated-it-is-national-governments-that/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I think today you can move ahead working with global companies more than with national governments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shimon-peres/i-think-today-you-can-move-ahead-working-with-global-companies-more/)

[Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shimon-peres/)

> [“The mass hallucination of the twentieth century is this: that all these national governments, which each year kill or threaten way more humans than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-mcmahon/the-mass-hallucination-of-the-twentieth-century-is-this-that-all/)

[Tyler Mcmahon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-mcmahon/)

> [National governments alone cannot deliver lasting prosperity without a transformation of social and economic development that seeks to minimise risk and seize the opportunity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-espinosa/national-governments-alone-cannot-deliver-lasting-prosperity-without/)

[Patricia Espinosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-espinosa/)

> [“And yet, for all its faults as a system of indirect government, the Union has certain interesting and original attributes. Decisions and laws may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/and-yet-for-all-its-faults-as-a-system-of-indirect-government-the/)

[Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/)

> [These transnationalists have little need for national loyalty, view national boundaries as obstacles that thankfully are vanishing, and see national governments as residues from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/these-transnationalists-have-little-need-for-national-loyalty-view/)

[Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/)

> [Governments regard their own citizens as their main enemy, and they have to be - protect themselves. That's why you have state secret laws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/governments-regard-their-own-citizens-as-their-main-enemy-and-they/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [Local and state governments have outrun the federal government. The EPA has served notice that it will enact a rule requiring CO2 reductions by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/local-and-state-governments-have-outrun-the-federal-government-the/)

[Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/)

> [Governments follow their people. A great deal has to do with the vision of the leadership of governments. They have a vision, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-khurshid/governments-follow-their-people-a-great-deal-has-to-do-with-the/)

[Salman Khurshid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-khurshid/)

## More by Terence McKenna

> [History was an incredibly damaging experience, and now it's over . . . in a sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/history-was-an-incredibly-damaging-experience-and-now-it-s-over-in-a/)

[Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/)

> [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/)

[Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/)

> [The history of man that you don't know is what your unconscious is made out of. Just as the history of yourself that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-history-of-man-that-you-don-t-know-is-what-your-unconscious-is/)

[Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/)

> [We are consciousness. We may not always be monkeys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-consciousness-we-may-not-always-be-monkeys/)

[Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/)

> [What is happening here is we are living past the age, by the millions, living past the age where cultural values make any sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-is-happening-here-is-we-are-living-past-the-age-by-the-millions/)

[Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/)

> [What history is, essentially, is a careening, out-of-control effort to find our way back to this state of primordial balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-history-is-essentially-is-a-careening-out-of-control-effort-to/)

[Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/)

> [And what is the primary datum? It's the felt presence of immediate experience. In other words, being here now is the primary datum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/and-what-is-the-primary-datum-it-s-the-felt-presence-of-immediate/)

[Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/)

> [Our culture difinitely takes an egocentric dominator view. The fear of the psychedelic experience is quite literally the fear of losing control. Dominator types…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/our-culture-difinitely-takes-an-egocentric-dominator-view-the-fear-of/)

[Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/)

> [Every step into freedom contains within it the potential for greater bondage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/every-step-into-freedom-contains-within-it-the-potential-for-greater/)

[Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/)

> [This is the message of your life and my life - it’s that nothing lasts. Heraclitus said it: Panta Rhei. All flows, nothing lasts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/this-is-the-message-of-your-life-and-my-life-it-s-that-nothing-lasts/)

[Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/)

> [I often like to think that our map of the world is wrong, that where we have centered physics, we should actually place literature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-often-like-to-think-that-our-map-of-the-world-is-wrong-that-where/)

[Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/)

> [Knowledge, or verbal facility, is no proof that you know what you're talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/knowledge-or-verbal-facility-is-no-proof-that-you-know-what-you-re/)

[Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/)

> [No culture on earth is as heavily narcotized as the industrial West in terms of being inured to the consequences of maladaptive behavior. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/no-culture-on-earth-is-as-heavily-narcotized-as-the-industrial-west/)

[Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/)

> [Man was not put on this planet to toil in the mud. Or the god who put us on this planet to toil in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/man-was-not-put-on-this-planet-to-toil-in-the-mud-or-the-god-who-put/)

[Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/)

> [If you take psychedelics and the Internet and music and put all of that together you have the basis for a new community that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/if-you-take-psychedelics-and-the-internet-and-music-and-put-all-of/)

[Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/)

[Explore all 745 Terence McKenna quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/)

## More Government quotes

> [We could form a government of national unity fighting corruption. The ordinary Afghan is sick and tired of it, because it's she or he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashraf-ghani/we-could-form-a-government-of-national-unity-fighting-corruption-the/)

[Ashraf Ghani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashraf-ghani/)

> [For the Scottish government, the practice of having meetings in different parts of the country is well established, but for the U.K. government, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-sturgeon/for-the-scottish-government-the-practice-of-having-meetings-in/)

[Nicola Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-sturgeon/)

> [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/)

[Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/)

> [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/)

[Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/)

> [Right now we're concerned about budget. Right now we're concerned about the prospect of interest rate rise. We're concerned about government corruption, government handing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amity-shlaes/right-now-we-re-concerned-about-budget-right-now-we-re-concerned/)

[Amity Shlaes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amity-shlaes/)

> [One of the worst things to come out of the Consumer Protection Board's misleading claims is the impression that government resources are to hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-lesko/one-of-the-worst-things-to-come-out-of-the-consumer-protection-board/)

[Matthew Lesko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-lesko/)

> [It is afraid of an informed, angry public demanding the constitutional government it was promised - and it should be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/it-is-afraid-of-an-informed-angry-public-demanding-the-constitutional/)

[Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/)

> [Louisiana's spicy, colorful politics have saddled our state with a reputation for tolerating lax ethical standards in government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kennedy/louisiana-s-spicy-colorful-politics-have-saddled-our-state-with-a/)

[John Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kennedy/)

> [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/)

Greg Perry

> [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/)

[Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/)

> [He is almost a statesman. He lies well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/he-is-almost-a-statesman-he-lies-well/)

[Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/)

> [If you believe in democracy, why shouldn't you know what the government is doing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-you-believe-in-democracy-why-shouldn-t-you-know-what-the/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [I mean those people who are interested in good government will certainly contribute in order to make certain there's some counter-balance to those whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-breyer/i-mean-those-people-who-are-interested-in-good-government-will/)

[Stephen Breyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-breyer/)

> [We can't have a government that will collapse in three months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-varadkar/we-can-t-have-a-government-that-will-collapse-in-three-months/)

[Leo Varadkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-varadkar/)

> [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

[Browse all 21,248 Government quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "National governments are under paid, under staffed, and under talented.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Terence McKenna"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/national-governments-are-under-paid-under-staffed-and-under-talented/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Government"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/national-governments-are-under-paid-under-staffed-and-under-talented/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed7/terence-mckenna-287_government_national-governments-are-under-paid-unde_2003128.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed7/terence-mckenna-287_government_national-governments-are-under-paid-unde_2003128.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed7/terence-mckenna-287_government_national-governments-are-under-paid-unde_2003128.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“National governments are under paid, under staffed, and under talented.” — Terence McKenna",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Terence McKenna",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "National governments are under paid, under...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/national-governments-are-under-paid-under-staffed-and-under-talented/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/national-governments-are-under-paid-under-staffed-and-under-talented/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
