Where is your money? Brandon Godwin September 8 2016 ENG-120 Abstract The federal government of the United Stated of America spends millions, billions, and even trillions of dollars each year on research. Funding is provided through grants to various organizations to study topics from the curing of cancer to the mating habits of ants in tropical climates. The problem with this system is that there is no management of the funds, no oversight, and no requirement for any results factual or otherwise once the project is funded. Research has proven that the government spends or rather gives these finances away too frivolously. The funds that the government disperses have to come from somewhere and that place is each and every tax paying …show more content…
Citizens do their work, pay their taxes and do the best they can. Some people pay a small amount of taxes and others pay more, this provides a constant stream of revenue for the country to operate on. Unfortunately, the government spends the public’s money on research, with little oversight and no public approval. This is a problem, even with the revenue from taxes the government is constantly in more and more debt and there is no end in sight. Ending pointless non approved research is the solution. The government funds pointless research, has little to no oversight, there is no public approval of the research, and many Americans do not agree with what is being …show more content…
And unfortunately when it comes to what topics to research, it is the people doing the research who choose what to look into not the tax payers who are funding it. Therefore, the amount of research being done the extent of it and even the results can be skewed. If an organization wants funding and receives it, they have essentially received a check from the U.S. tax payer to do whatever they want and at the end the recipient can state all or none of their findings. These federally funded projects provide organizations with free money and no accountability. Recently, The University of California at Berkeley has focused on federally funded research and the possibility of unfairness of funded projects and biases on research funded by those the research affects (Who pays, 2007). The public has no say in where their tax dollars go in the subject of research funding, however any tax payer can apply for research funding and may be approved. If approved there is no obligation to pay the money back or to publish any findings for the research. Theoretically federal funding could be used as someone’s private bank account and with no oversight this can go on un noticed for as long as the funding
The pharmaceutical and biotech industries must be free to develop and research life saving medicines and other advancements that will benefit society. If this cannot be done, progress would never be made. People would still be contracting polio a...
...mbered by scientists who just want a little more freedom. The United States is the freest country in the world, and in order for it to stay that way it needs to stay protected with censorship and the use of caution.
...vate sponsor as a partner in order to receive equal funds from government. This has set a trend of ‘public-private partnerships’ which put objectivity and research integrity at risk (Whistleblowers: Defending Academic Freedom, 2013). The duty of universities, to seek truth, is entirely different from duty of pharmaceutical companies; which is to make money for their shareholders (Lewis et al., 2001, pg. 783). The dynamic pursuit of self- interest by private economic entities has become one of the greatest causes of moral problems in the public sphere (Willbern, 1984, pg.104). Research institutions being reliant on private funds feel hopeless while tailoring the research results according to corporate wishes (Whistleblowers: Defending Academic Freedom, 2013).
An example of science and scientists being subjected to societal influences is the legality of stem cell research. Stem cell research is a controversial science that is often defined by whoever is in power. In 2001, President Bush restricted federal funding for stem cell research due to his belief that embryos (where the stem cells are extracted from) are humans. Thus, the research would entail the destruction of human lives. Conversely, in 2009, President Obama allowed federal funding for embryonic stem cell research because he believed that embryos were not humans.
Society seems to be divided between the idea if science is more harmful than helpful. We live in a world where humans depend on science and technology to improve important aspects of society, such as medical machinery, which supports the fact that science is more of a friend than a foe. Science is advancing every day. The United States has come a long way with its ongoing developments, giving individuals a chance to improve society as a whole. Not only does the United States benefit from such growth, but every modernized country does so as well. Through science and technology, individuals learn from past endeavors and apply it to present and future projects, paving the way for new discoveries and efficient enhancements
We live in a world where scientific discoveries are surfacing each day.We need to accept the discoveries and support the ones which were not successful. Scientists need to be given some sort of restrictions in regards to everything in life, which would be a necessity for an individual to live. Naturally the world of science means a world of curiosity and adventures. Our government needs to step in and control the scientists' actions.
Advancements in medical technology can be associated in great part to human experimentation. It is widely known that medicine created for humans, in order to be proven effective, must undergo human clinical trials. When this form of experimentation is voluntary it benefits all of humanity. It just so happens that unfortunately, sometimes volunteers are misinformed of the dangers of the trial or are tested without their knowledge. This world wide issue has been attempted to be remedied through laws and regulations, but loopholes can still be found within them. Time has proved to the world that these laws are simply not enough. Stricter laws should be enacted to prevent the world's history of unethical human experimentation from repeating itself.
According to Best College Reviews, an authoritative and editorially independent college review journal, schools like Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California in Los Angles, and Johns Hopkins University are the top three universities that contribute the most to scientific research. UCLA alone has “over 350 research labs, centers, and institutes, 290 of which are medical centers, and over 1,800 inventions have come from this research powerhouse.” These schools, along with others, are helping to find cures for huge issues like cancer, and the more donations they receive, the closer these schools come to finding a cure. Colleges live from donations, especially the science departments, which is a department that every university has; contrary to the common belief, money is not the only thing that can be donated to universities to help them prosper. Universities are limited to testing their research on animals. Although the anatomy of certain animals is similar to that of a human’s, animal organs are not as great as human organs when it comes to testing certain cures for certain diseases, and it is also a very controversial topic on its own. Additionally, animal testing is very costly. The animals need to be fed, which requires purchasing food, they need to be kept in an
People on the other side of this argument would disagree and say the government should not fund research, should not regulate pesticides sold, and would say not to educate people on honey bees. The government has been known to give out money to things that are not important; in the article “The American Dream”, Michael Snyder writes that the United States gave $1.5 million into research on why one third of lesbians are more over weight than gay males.
The United States has long been a leader in scientific research, but it will take industry, academia, and government working together for our country to stay there. Since the implementation of the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, which gave universities greater control over intellectual property, research universities have teamed up with partners during early-stage development to further their resources. The new task of universities was not to conduct research with the intent to make money, but to present their findings to the public domain for the sake of knowledge and the public good. In 2004, David Sinclair and Christopher Westphal, two innovative scientists following their intuition, founded Sirtris Pharmaceuticals. The founding idea arose from Sinclair’s
Scientific and technological advancements over the past few centuries have had mixed influence over our society. On the one hand, it has raised the standards of living, increased average life-span through superior medical facilities, connected the world together through faster means of transportation and communication. On the other hand, it has given the human kind its deadliest of weapons and arsenals which are capable of destroying the world itself and hence created a sense of insecurity and fear. Considering that a vast majority of scientific researches are carried out under the funding of the government, it becomes germane to ask whether the government should fund a research the consequences of which are unclear and may as well provide a deadlier weapon in the hands of the terrorists.
Government acts as parents of their citizens. There should be no one over the rules. I know the scientific research have vital role for a nation however, it should be done with direct supervision of the government. A government needs to know the recourses that they are using for their research. I know all scientists have put all of their whole life into their study and achieve their goal but everyone may not have same feeling, thought towards the country. There is now guaranty that everything they do will benefit the country the money government spends for research will be worth. Therefore, scientific research should be done under the government
Many people fail to realize the significance of citizen science, we as a society tend to ignore
The first observation that Hoonlor, Szymanski, and Mohammed make is that generally, whenever new keywords appear in grants, the same keywords subsequently receive a “burst” or increase in publications. The authors gathered data from the datasets ACM, IEEE, and NSF from 1990-2010 on proposals for grants and on Computer Science publications. They analyzed the relationship between awarded grants and research topics. The authors found that if a keyword in a publication had a high frequency, funding usually increased. For this, the authors used a data mining technique that used the...
In modern society, governments in both developed and developing countries contribute financial resources to various forms of research and development (R&D). This type of investment assists society to function more effectively, because of inventions and innovations in many sectors, such as health, education, technology and science. In this way, social growth is encouraged at both a national and international level, which further supports improved business and commercial expansion. Based on this, it can be understood that government funding promotes scientific exploration of new ideas and processes that can advance the standard of living around the world. Therefore, it is argued that government funding for research benefits society. This will be examined with reference to the way government funding for medical research aids society, and scientific production on technology.