Photo credit Jim Wintering
In recent years, government funding for scientific research has been slashed in most fields. We have seen federal backing cut by more than 8% in the last year (after alreadybeing cut year after year) and the end of pioneering endeavors such as NASA’s space shuttle program. Budgets have grown, however, for far less desirable focuses such as the national defense (or military) research budget, which in 2012 topped the list among all countries of the world, doubling second-place China’s spending with an annual expenditure of over $1.7 trillion (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute Yearbook 2012).
With the decline of government capital available to scientists, the private sector has stepped in to fill the void. Some companies are American, though many are based across the globe, particularly in Asia. In a survey taken by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology this year, 80% of scientists said they were spending considerably more time writing grant applications than in 2010. 67% also said they were receiving considerably less funding as well. The survey continues to reveal that 1/5 of American scientists are seriously contemplating moving abroad to access better conditions for their research (Unlimited Potential, Vanishing Opportunity).
This poses a serious question: What do we do now? Do we let the great thinkers of our generation leave us behind for greener pastures, or do we rally for more administrative support and fight with and for our scientists?
Even if our researchers remain in the states, industrial control over patents and research have serious negative side effects. For example, pharmaceutical companies maintain a monopoly over most drugs offered to the public today. Only in the past few months have patents on genes like BRCA1 and BRCA2 been struckdown in the Supreme Court. Until then, a lack of competition would cost an individual thousands of dollars to see her susceptibility to breast cancer.
The only feasible solution is to increase public support for federal funding. In the article, Does Science Matter? (Broad and Glanz), the authors argue that the public has become increasingly apathetic towards science in the last 50 years. I disagree. I believe that although the general public may not understand much of the necessity or use for specific research, most still value science immensely. It should, considering science has given us everything from the Internet, which you use now, to the medical treatment one receives from a doctor.
This is also a fault of our government. Today, Asian and European countries frequently overshadow our science programs, and while, “90 percent of adult Americans say they are very or moderately interested in science discoveries,” the level of science education we receive is modest compared to others.
I suggest that collectively, as a people and country, we assemble to increase the scientific education and support for scientific endeavors in our country. Once the winner of the space race, it would be nothing short of a travesty to let our science programs decay into a hunt for money or drift off across the oceans.
