Nancy Pelosi is pushing science spending as part of the stimulus package. I’m for it.
More generally, I think the Democrats have a chance now to mobilize what Don Price once called “the scientific estate” as part of a new coalition. That means, of course, respecting scientific analysis in making policy. But it also means keeping the flow of funds coming. This isn’t merely a question of pandering to an interest group (though of course it is partly that).
At any reasonable social discount rate, we’re way under-investing in new knowledge compared to our investments in physical capital. So spending more on science as part of the stimulus package is sensible microeconomically as well as macroeconomically.
