FREE ESSAY ON APPLY THE BUDGET SURPLUS TO SCIENCE

APPLY THE BUDGET SURPLUS TO SCIENCE

For years, everyone has opined on what to do with the budget surplus: fund new educational
programs, cut taxes, and so on. Science needs the money. In some technologies, we are
beginning to fall behind other countries. We must not allow this to happen. Everyone
reaps the benefits of science; increasing funding for research programs would only
enhance these benefits. 
Where would the United States be today without science? 
Science is a big part of our economy, but today most research and development occur in
the private sector. Why has the government cut spending? Because they know that the
private sector will do the work. Money motivates the private sector to perform research;
when profitability wanes in a certain area, research by the private sector also declines.
Kenneth Brown asserts that private firms often focus on their own product rather than
work on a broader understanding of science. Should Uncle Sam allow such a deficiency in
research? 
Increased government spending in science would produce a greater breadth and depth of
knowledge. You may ask yourself: why is this important? As the world leader in virtually
everything, it is imperative for the US to lead the world in science also. Not only for
defense reasons, but also to keep pace with other countries so no country can monopolize
a scientific breakthrough. Would we want Japan or Russia to come up with a cure for AIDS
and have to purchase the knowledge from them? The US needs to lead the world in science;
to maintain this position we must apply the budget surplus to federal science research
programs.