Science reports:
Figuring Out What the Debt Agreement Means for Science
As the ink dried last week on the hard-fought budget agreement between the Obama Administration and Congress that raised the U.S. debt ceiling to avert a government default, federal science agencies, universities, and researchers were left wondering what it all means. The only sure bet is that the tortuous, two-step process to shrink the deficit by $2.1 trillion over the next decade will be a bonanza for lobbyists. Research advocates say their initial response to the Budget Control Act of 2011 that became law on 2 August is one of cautious optimism about the immediate future—and apprehension about the longer-term prospects.
One wonders what the “longer-term prospects” of uncontrolled government spending instead would be. The blinkered attitude of “what’s in it for me irrespective of how it can be paid for” is understandable in little children. It is frightening when you see it not only in adults, but the “best and brightest” of them.
