The 2018 Trump Administration Science Budget

Scientists don't do universal good.
Take Fritz Haber, for example. He invented the technique for synthesizing ammonia, which has been invaluable to agriculture. The food production for half the world's population depends on his method for producing nitrogen fertilizers.  But he was also the "Father of Chemical Warfare". Hmm...

But it is easy to show that science is what propels technological development and that government-funded science is essential for this, so it is baffling why the administration want to cut the science budget of NIH by 22%, DOE by 15% and NSF by 13%. Yes, I know they want to cut overhead grants, and a sensible discussion about that is always useful, but who would then build the buildings in which science is done?

Are they doing it just to save money? In fact I might consider myself more of a fiscal conservative than most Republican politicians.  Why? Because I would be in favor of keeping both the military and mandatory elements of the federal budget under control, whereas they wish to inflate the former (through blind ideology) and ignore the latter (through fear of losing votes).

Let's hope the Congress does its job and reverses this policy. As President Obama said in 2011, cutting investment in innovation is like lightening an overloaded airplane by removing its engines. It may make you feel like you're flying high at first, but it won't be long before you feel the impact.

Double the NIH Budget?

An article in the New York Times suggests doubling the NIH budget again. Using Alzheimer's and other dementia as an example, Newt Gingrich notes that we are projected to spend $20 trillion in care for these diseases, but only about 1% of that on research.  A cure for Alzheimer's is within reach, so surely that would save us trillions of dollars? Anyone see anything wrong with that argument? I can't. The same goes for other research agencies, as well, such as DOE and NSF, although one can argue about the relative importance to society of the each of the various programs they run.

Investment for the future. Get the best and brightest here and get them doing what they are good at.