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Greetings:
Criticisms appear regularly in
print regarding the U.S. Government not allocating
enough funds for basic research and development.
The argument goes that most, if not all other, governments
of industrialized nations do spend a lot of taxpayer
money on R&D as well as heavily subsidizing
private manufacturing. This goes for both the military
and commercial realms.
Many would argue that
no, the Fed does not spend nearly enough to offset
the “unfair” advantage provided to our international
competitors by their (sometimes collective;, e.g.
the EU) governments. However, many of the same people
define attempts to assist businesses through tax
breaks or other considerations as “corporate welfare.”
I am of the belief that the U.S. government
spends way too much of my tax dollars on propping
up its own grossly bloated bureaucracy and on well-meaning
but criminally inefficient social programs (consider
the cost of pandering to illegal aliens, as a recent
headlines example). Instead, IMHO, those dollars
should be funding unprecedented levels of R&D
by both universities and industry. Rather than perpetuating
the welfare class by encouraging and rewarding slothfulness,
increase the opportunities for advancement in society
by providing basically unlimited access to productive
endeavors. Those who are able and decline will be
left behind by their own choice, while those who
are truly not able will be the deserving the beneficiaries
of a benevolent society.
By the way, do not
even bother arguing about the money “wasted” on
defense. If it were not for our strong defense,
your opportunity would be determined by what your
conquerors decided was the best use for your talents.
Recall that during WWII, the Nazis used Jewish PhDs
on assembly lines to assemble munitions for Germany.
Comments (other than on wasteful defense spending)?
Oh, since RF Cafe is visited by folks from many
nations, there are options for you vote about your
own country's R&D spending.
_________________ - Kirt Blattenberger
RF Cafe Progenitor & Webmaster
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