Gimme The Money!

Another in our occasional series of special interest groups pleading for more of our cash.

The UK is in danger of losing its leading position in stem cell research if the next US president relaxes restrictions imposed by George Bush, according to the new head of the Medical Research Council.

Leszek Borysiewicz, who will be formally announced today as the head of the UK's largest public science funding agency, said tight restrictions on federal funding of stem cell research in the US had helped Britain because top researchers had been attracted here to carry out research.

"We have been very fortunate in attracting those individuals. But they require an infrastructure and support which is very heavy. We have got to be sure that it is maintained at the highest quality levels - that does not come cheaply, but we have to make sure it actually happens, because these people move on," he said.
I think we can all decode that, can't we? More money must be spent on my client interest group. It's important. We're important. Really.

The only problem here is just what we're being asked to do. The current "restrictions" on stem cell research in the US are only that no new stem cell lines may be created using federal research grants. Private money can do whatever it wants. It is those restrictions on federal funding which might (note, might) be lifted with the next President.

So the first thing we're being asked to do is get into a pissing match with the American taxpayer. As their economy is some $11 trillion a year, ours $2 trillion, that doesn't look like it's a game we're likely to win.

But there's one more stage to this. The sort of basic research we're being asked to fund is in fact a public good. It doesn't matter who does it or where, only that it is done: we can all benefit from the results. So a rational response to the threat ("threat"? Hah!) that John Doe's rather than John Bull's tax payments will be splurged on scientists is: Excellent! So, what else shall we spend the money on?

The very argument that is being put forward for us to raise our subvention to this field is in fact an argument for us to curtail it.