Scientists Stage Funerals To Protest Against Cuts — a New Trend?

ananyo writes "Physicists, chemists and mathematicians in the UK are campaigning against their chief public funder (EPSRC) over reforms that they say threaten blue-skies research, kicking off their protest by toting a coffin to the Prime Minister in Downing Street. The reforms are a response to declining budgets and political pressure to focus science on areas that will produce economic benefits for the UK. Last month, over 2000 Canadian scientists marched to Parliament Hill with a coffin to protest against the Harper government's cuts to basic research and scientific facilities, which they believe undermine the quality of scientific evidence in government. With budget cuts to science expected in the U.S., is it time for scientists in U.S. — and perhaps elsewhere — to think about getting their retaliation in first and ready their coffins?"

Comments

Re:How about the USA?

[SirSlud]

RTFA much? The coffin is not a mock funeral for the respective prime ministers, but rather for the 'death of science'.

Death of evidence

[Hatta]

This is intentional. They deliberately impoverish the intellectual community so that few will be able to question what government does. If no one has hard data, the government can do what it wants. If hard data is available, the government has to take that into consideration. Behind every anti-intellectual is an authoritarian.

Re:Death of evidence

[Hatta]

There's an economic downturn. The government is having trouble funding programs. And the fact that they want to cut spending to a program that doesn't have immediate and clearly predictable economic benefit is because they're anti-intellectual?

Basic research provides the greatest ROI of any sort of investment anywhere ever. On top of that, government spending helps to stimulate economies. Creating solid middle class jobs filled by smart, motivated people is exactly the kind of thing that you want to do to get out of a recession.

Can't cut anything...

[rgbrenner]

We can't cut social security because old people will starve in the streets.
We can't cut the drug benefits because old people can't afford their medication.
We can't cut the military, or our enemies will attack us.
We can't cut unemployment benefits, because people are unemployed.
We can't cut benefits to the poor because the poor need help.
We can't cut support to the bank industry because they need help to recover.
And apparently, we also can't cut science funding, or scientists will die.

The government is huge because people never want to give up ANYTHING. It's always "the other guy" who should pay.

Well when you have a massive debt, everyone has to give up something.. and that includes (unfortunately) scientists. Maybe those researching "blue skies" projects that have gone no where should be cut.

Re:Can't cut anything...

[TheRaven64]

Well when you have a massive debt, everyone has to give up something.. and that includes (unfortunately) scientists

Science is not a cost, it's an investment. You don't fix the economy by stopping spending money on things that will give a return.

Maybe those researching "blue skies" projects that have gone no where should be cut.

The departments where people only do research that is guaranteed to work are usually the weaker ones. Good research addresses problems where the solution isn't known, where there are only some approximate ideas about what it may be, and where failure is likely. A big problem in academia today is exactly the attitude in your post - that people who do research that may fail should be penalised.

Re:Can't cut anything...

[mcgrew]

Well when you have a massive debt, everyone has to give up something

No you don't. You can increase revenue. The 1% own something like 75% of everything, they can afford it. FUCKING DOUBLE THEIR TAXES! History has shown that high taxes on the rich do NOT harm the economy.

Re:How about the USA?

[SirSlud]

If you don't have anything informed to say, you could try saying nothing at all.

Science vs. Bank Bailouts

[Roger W Moore]

Because these scientists are Special And they shouldn't be subject to economic downturns eh?

In the last year or so the British government spent more money bailing out the banks that it has spent on science in the last 1,000 years. Now just pause and think about that for a second. Think about the world 1,000 years ago and where we are today because that difference is due primarily to science. If governments can blow more than 1,000 years worth of their science budget to bail out the very people whose greed created the economic down turn then you might think that they could find the relatively meagre pittance required to continue a program which has transformed our society.

...of course this may be part of the problem: it was far easier for those in power to deal with us troublesome peasants in the dark ages!