A recent editorial in NATURE described the many negative effects
of the sequester and other budget cuts on the state of US science. Among the immediate public effects are
reductions in NOAA weather monitoring just prior to hurricane season and in
USGS monitoring of snowpack (and thus water supply) in the west.
However, in the long term,
the most damaging aspect of the recent science budget cuts may be their effect
on career choices by talented young people. Discouraging prospects for research
funding and for career advancement will lead bright, internet savvy young folks
away from science and technology and into other fields. Even among those who
choose to go to graduate school in a science field, many young people are now
projecting non-research careers in industry rather than considering academic
research. This country has already
suffered immensely by having some of its brightest minds seduced by the high
payoffs of non-productive financial hocus-pocus on Wall Street rather than
pursuing jobs in science, engineering or medicine. The current budget
restraints will just compound this trend.
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