Have you seen Time's current issue?

This is actually disturbing. The article questions whether, "TIME.com: Are We Losing Our Edge?", but the real problems are deeper than just having fewer students opting for careers in science. The overarching problem is one of values. Forty to fifty years ago, both private industry and the government saw science as something worthy of investment, and so they both poured lots of money into research which often was of no immediate economic value. That seems to have stopped. The great private corporate labs are almost extinct. and in the public sector fundamental research is also being squeezed. Not only is scientific research being squeezed by reduced funding, but it is being influenced by political and religious ideology/dogma. This is not good.

However, this is not the central problem. Rather, it is a symptom of a deeper malaise afflicting our society. We have, it seems, entered a new Age of the Robber Baron. Corporations have become reluctant to spend money on anything. They want as much of their revenue as possible to flow through to the bottom line. They are demanding more and more from their employees while, at the same time, trying to limit wages and benefits as much as possible. Corporations want to transfer as many costs as possible to the public sector in the form of waste disposal and management. (This means polluting with impunity.) This same mindset fuels the conservative drive to pare government spending to defense and welfare for rich individuals and corporations at the expense of, among other budget items, scientific research.

The decline of science in the United States is, then, just another example of how our standard of living is being eroded by the conservative agenda. That this is an extremely short-sighted mindset which needs changing would seem to be self-evident--except that the people who most benefit are those who are most insulated from its adverse effects. In other words, as the quality of life decays for 80-90% of the population, those at the upper levels of wealth can afford to buy their comfort--at least for now and for an ever increasing cost. It is time we, as a nation, started thinking about what is really important in this very transitory life, and making some fundamental adjustments. If nothing else, the debate/dialogue needs to begin in earnest now.