Its not about the jobs

In case you have been sleeping for the past decade, there has been a big controversy over stem cell research - particularly that using embryonic stem cells. Its been a bit of a roller coaster - yes it can be federally funded, no it cant, yes it can, no it cant... and now its waiting on a Supreme Court decision.

The research itself does get into some ground breaking stuff - diabetes, cancer, etc. Its also expensive - $200 million this year alone. But apparently the scientists doing the research are worrying about their jobs. Well yes that is a concern. Anyone's job can just go away. There are no guarantees for any job these days.

A few thoughts here:

Isn't the idea that ground breaking research might be put on hold a bit more disconcerting than the fact that 1300 people might have to find new jobs? No one wants to lose their job but let's not lose sight of the fact that the research might be more important than the jobs?

Why is it a given that the federal government should fund this research? Regardless of the embryonic or other stem cells issue, is the federal government supposed to fund this? I am sure the government funds all sorts of things but who thinks they are required to fund this in the first place? What if they had to get other funding like a lot of other research does?

I am not questioning the right or wrong about the research. But is the government supposed to fund research? Why are they supposed to fund it - because they always did? Even if the Supreme Court allows it, what if the budget didn't have room for to fund it?

I don't know but I think something is a little out of whack here. Its not about jobs. Its about research and breakthroughs. Its about coping with change if needed.

I wouldn't be worried about my job. I would be more worried if research was derailed. Even if they get funding, from whatever source, they could still lose their job.
You have read this article funding / research with the title Its not about the jobs. You can bookmark this page URL https://ogbcommunity.blogspot.com/2010/10/its-not-about-jobs.html. Thanks!

No comment for "Its not about the jobs"

Post a Comment

Labels

1956 Suez War 1973 War 1st Amendment About the Blog Abraham Abu Dhabi Afghanistan agriculture Ahmadinejad Ahmed Mansour airlines Al-Jazeera Al-Qa‘ida Algeria Alzheimer’s AmeriCorps ancient history Anwar Sadat ANZACs appliance rebate April 15 AQAP Arab League Arab newspapers Arab World Arab-Americans Arab-Israeli Issues Arabic language archaeology Asads Ashraf Marwan atrazine Ausrtralia Ayman Nour back pain Bahrain bailouts bank assets to GDP bank capital bank guarantees bank nationalisation Barack Obama being a patient Berbers bethlehem bias billionaires biodiversity Biography birther blahs Blankfein blog action day blogs and blogging books BP brain cancer brain injury brainless bratwurst breast cancer breast cancer Britain Buckley v. Valeo Budget 2009 bully business Cairo camels cancer cancer bonds cancer cause cancer cure cancer detection cancer diagnosis cancer research cancer risk cancer treatment Capital Flows carbon footprint care giving Catholic Church censorship CEO pay Chamber of Commerce chemo brain chemotherapy child abuse China chlorine Christmas Citizens United Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission climate change climate science clinical trials coal coal power coffeehouse gossip college colon cancer colonialism communication Congress Constellation Brands Constitution coping Copts corporations corruption coups credibility Credit Crunch credit default swaps CSAs Cuba cure death debt debt crisis defense issues deficits democratization derivatives DFL diet diglossia Diplomacy distractions doctor appointments doctor questions doctors Don Gordon donating Double Dip Druze Dubai Earth Day earthquakes East Asia and the Middle East economics Egypt ElBaradei elbow elections emotions energy Eurozone Growth Eurozone Spreads exercises extinction fairness Fallujah fat fatigue FDR Federal Reserve film Finance First World War Fiscal Stimulus food football Fox News France fraud Friday Prayer friends funding Gallo Gamal Mubarak Garrison Keillor Gaza GCC Geopolitics George W. Bush Ghajar Global Imbalances global warming Golden Rule Goldman Sachs GOP government debt Greece Greenland Gulf oil spill Gulf states Haiti Hajj Hamas Hariri head injury healing Health health care health care reform health insurance healthcare healthcare reform healthiness healthy eating healthy living Hebron hedge funds Helen Thomas helping herbicides Herding Hizbullah holidays holy places http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.ghttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifif http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif humanity humor Husni Mubarak IDF Imazighen income tax incompetence Indian Ocean inflation information technology injections insider trading insolvency insurance intelligence Internet Iran Iraq Iraq war Ireland Islam Islamophobia Israel Israeli newspapers Israeli politics Italy Japan Jerusalem Jim Klobuchar Jordan Judaism Jundallah Koch Industries Kurdish issues Kuwait Kyrgyzstan labor lack of sleep languages learning Lebanon Leukimia levothyroxine Libya life lists Lung cancer Maghreb Maldives Manas Maronites masters of manipulation Mauritania Mecca media medical costs medical errors medical history medical information medication MEI MEI Annual Conference meltdown metastatic cancer Middle East Journal Middle Eastern Christians military affairs Minnesota Minnesota GreenCorps Minnesota taxes monetary policy Morocco mortality Mossad Motivasi Muhammad Naguib Muqtada al-Sadr music music videos Muslim Brotherhood mzerim n Napa Nasser national anthems NATO needles Netanyahu New Deal New York New Zealand news NFL nitrogen pollution no-fly zone Non Sequitur normal nostalgia Nowruz nuclear crisis nuclear weapons Obama obituaries ocean acidification oil Oman Omar Suleiman oncologist optimism organic output gap ovarian cancer overscheduled pain Pakistan Palestine Palestinian Authority palliative Pat Robertson patient rights patriotism Pawlenty Pays d'Oc pesticides pink washing Pinot Noir Plan B planning PLO politics Pope Shenouda III Portfolios Prediction Markets prescriptions press freedom price of risk procedures prostate cancer prostitution protests Public Debt Qadhafi Qatar Quantitative Easing Qur'an radioactive iodine Ras al-Khaimah Ray McGovern Reagan recalls Recession recommendations recurrence remembrance Republican Party research revolutions Richard B. Parker rock bands royalty Rush Limbaugh Saad Zaghloul Saddam Hussein safety sanity Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Satan Saudi Arabia scars Scott Walker Sectarianism settlements Shi‘ism Shin Bet shipping side effects skepticism Skin cancer sleep social justice social networking solar cells solar energy solar power soy Spare Capacity special operations sphagnum moss sports state budget stem cell Stephen Ross Wine Cellars Sterling Streisand Effect stress Stuxnet succession issues Sudan Summits Sunnis Super Bowl support Supreme Court surgery swimming pool Syria Tamazight Target Corp. Target stores tax cuts taxes teaching televangelism television Territorial disputes terrorism testing The ___ Gulf The UK think tanks thyroid cancer Tifinagh time tired Tom Emmer tourism transportation trauma travel Tulocay Winery Tunisia Turkey UAE UK fiscal policy UK Recession unions United Nations universities university US US Administration US Civil War US military US Presidential Election Utah vacation vegetables Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity Veteran's Day video volunteer volunteer work Walid Jumblatt Wall Street water wealth weather Weekend Historical Videos weight loss wellness Western Sahara Wikileaks wine Wisconsin women Woods Hole World War II Yemen YItzhak Rabin young cancer patients Zahi Hawass Zero Bound