The price of Trump’s war on universities
For decades, the United States has been the world leader in scientific research. Even as China has been catching up, the US has managed to remain a magnet for scientists world-wide, and its universities are the most desirable destinations for undergrads and graduate students. Until now.
“There are significant economic consequences to spiking medical research in the universities: this subsidizes the training of people who will work in the industry, and it drives the types of blue sky research that industry doesn’t want to do, but that it benefits greatly from. It creates a vacuum that other countries will rush to fill. If it persists, the comparative advantage that the US has gained by attracting top global talent will collapse.
“At the same time, what Trump and his cronies are doing to the education system with their anti-science agenda will pretty much guarantee that home grown talent is likely to be non-competitive globally. As the split with Musk over visas indicates, the tech sector knows how much it has benefited from draining the brains from overseas. Trump’s actions will reverse the flow — that loud sucking sound will be top talent leaving the US. US higher ed is a significant export industry in which the US runs a big surplus (a lot more international students come to study here than the other way around). Losing the US edge in higher ed, means not just losing the research expertise and findings, but also the students.”
Trashing American science is not only the goal of the Trump White House, it has the support of the Republican Party. These are not conservatives, these are troglodytes.
Trump and the GOP trash US research
“There are significant economic consequences to spiking medical research in the universities: this subsidizes the training of people who will work in the industry, and it drives the types of blue sky research that industry doesn’t want to do, but that it benefits greatly from. It creates a vacuum that other countries will rush to fill. If it persists, the comparative advantage that the US has gained by attracting top global talent will collapse.
“At the same time, what Trump and his cronies are doing to the education system with their anti-science agenda will pretty much guarantee that home grown talent is likely to be non-competitive globally. As the split with Musk over visas indicates, the tech sector knows how much it has benefited from draining the brains from overseas. Trump’s actions will reverse the flow — that loud sucking sound will be top talent leaving the US. US higher ed is a significant export industry in which the US runs a big surplus (a lot more international students come to study here than the other way around). Losing the US edge in higher ed, means not just losing the research expertise and findings, but also the students.”
Trashing American science is not only the goal of the Trump White House, it has the support of the Republican Party. These are not conservatives, these are troglodytes.
Trump and the GOP trash US research
China’s chip production breakthrough, 480-million-year-old cave: 7 science highlights | South China Morning Post
1. China defies ASML prediction with EUV breakthrough in advanced chip production
Chinese researchers have cracked a barrier to the home-grown production of advanced chips by building an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light source platform that operates at internationally competitive parameters, according to a research paper.
This is a gift from Trump to China. Actions speak louder than words.
@Crprod,
Yes. In effect, whether or not intentional.
Marshall’s contention is that Trump sees the universities as ideological enemies. If research is hugely important, then placate him to get results that are satisfactory. Doesn’t mean you have to do everything he wants, but do enough. Curse the dark or light a candle. Sure, might not feel that great, but is securing a solid base of research funding critical or not?
@Eric,
LOL! That’s not how it works. Appeasement will just be seen as a sign of weakness.