Cutting Science Funding: A Costly Mistake
2025-02-25
The Trump administration's "Department of Government Efficiency" has frozen funding for the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, raising concerns about cuts to federally funded scientific research. The article uses the example of massage therapy for premature infants to demonstrate how seemingly odd basic science research can yield enormous social and economic benefits. It argues for the importance of long-term government investment in basic science and the need for reforms to research funding mechanisms. While short-term returns are unpredictable, history shows that investments in basic science offer high returns and are a worthwhile long-term strategy.
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economic benefits