Almost 30 years ago, Paul Blustein introduced the slogan “starving the beast.” It has since become the mantra of conservative policymakers who want to shrink the federal government by cutting taxes and curbing revenues. Blustein was quoting a Reagan White House official in his Wall Street Journal column when he wrote, “We didn’t starve the beast. It’s still eating quite well — by feeding off future generations.”
Thirty years later, as federal debt has continued to swell — even when Republicans controlled the coffers — the beast is still feeding off future generations. But now the beast is well on its way to starving those future generations, to boot. It is in the process of undermining the foundation of future economic growth, which in no small measure depends on science, education and infrastructure.
Borrowing from our children can be beneficial, provided we use their money productively to make their lives better than ours. The trouble is that our policies today will likely make their lives worse.
In the name of fiscal responsibility and national security needs, the House spending plan, which carries the imprimatur of Budget Chairman Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., has provided appropriators with little wiggle room for nondefense funding. As a result, on a raft of research accounts they have been forced to hold expenditures at current sequester levels or, in the case of applied research, significantly lower.
- See more at: http://www.rollcall.com/news/cutting_science_funding_starves_future_generations_commentary-227532-1.html#disqus_thread
No comments:
Post a Comment