Budget Cuts and the Errosion of Basic Science

Here’s a story on today’s CNN Money web site describing layoffs among research scientists due to the budget cuts mandated by sequestration.

Budget Cuts Laying Off Scientists

Some people say that this money is just government largess. (Those people would be conservative politicians.) But the reality is that government funded research has produced numerous valuable discoveries that have led directly to the creation of new technologies, new industries, and new jobs. Government support for scientific research is the seed corn of future growth, it is an investment in the future. As I have said repeatedly, science is the foundation of the modern economy. If we degrade science we will degrade the economy.

Author: Mike

I am a patent attorney in Lexington, Kentucky. My law firm web site is http://www.coblenzlaw.com. I ran for State Representative in 2010 and lost in the primary. Many of these posts are based on writing that I did for that election. Rather than delete it all, I decided to dump it onto the internet. View all posts by Mike