“In matters of truth and justice, there is no difference between large and small problems, for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same.” – Albert Einstein.  Justice is a concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, equity and fairness. Budget cuts in scientific funding are putting the United States research at risk. Budget cuts limit the number of proposals that funding companies can obtain, therefore allowing fewer researchers to advance in their studies. We have many opportunities for a breakthrough in science and technology, but no one can afford the hefty cost of laboratories and research. Instead of spending money on science innovations, the government is wasting their money on investments that do not benefit the United States economy. At the end of 2014, the estimated debt of the United States government is 21.0 trillion dollars. In the President’s proposed total spending for the fiscal year 2015 only 1% is for science. This supports the contention that the government does not spend enough money on science research, and instead invests in gratuitous efforts.

Federal spending for research and development has immensely dropped in the past years. Those that fund scientific research have experienced a decline in their budget. The budget for the National Institute of Health, the world’s largest funder of biomedical research, shrank 5.5 percent. Laura Niedernhofer, a molecular biologist, was conducting an experiment to reduce the toxicity of cancer drugs, when her research came to an end. The National Institute of Health rejected her grant application. She is not alone. Nearly two thirds of the nation’s researchers and scientists have experienced similar situations.  Nearly half of the nation’s grant receivers will get laid off due to the government’s inability to fund their experiments. I would address this situation by transferring the government’s investments from unnecessary endeavors  toward science.

The government is wasting their money on investments that do not benefit the United States economy. The government owns nearly 77,000 vacant buildings across the United States. These buildings are paid for by taxpayers and are costing them an estimate 1.7 billion dollars annually. The main problem with these buildings is that the federal government doesn’t know they own these abhorrent buildings. According to the Federal Real Property Profile, buildings that are listed as excellent may have trees growing through the roof. According to Laura Sullivan a NPR News investigative correspondent, “someone has to mow the lawns, keep the pipes from freezing, maintain security fences, pay for some basic power”. In 2014, Detroit solved this problem by spending 850 million dollars, one half of what taxpayers are paying annually per vacant, government owned home, to tear down 40,000 vacant, government owned buildings. This halted the 1.7 billion dollars per building taxpayers were paying for those properties. The government is also wasting their money on providing money for international research before helping their own country. In 2012, the US provided Russia with 15 million dollars toward nuclear research. The Obama administration spent between 16 and 20 million dollars to help students from Indonesia get master’s degrees. Why should our government be providing for the needs of another country, when they haven’t considered their own nation?

If I were a US senator, I would address this situation by changing legislation needed  to  transfer funds from one form to another. According to the Biomedical Research and Development, an average science grant is 450,000 dollars. If the government were directing the money from these vacant, counterproductive buildings toward science research, they could provide nearly four thousand science grants a year. I believe the government should not push another country’s science field before their owns.  I am greatly interested in science; especially the field of nanoscience. I decided to write my essay on this topic because I wanted to learn more about the problem.When I read about this issue, I notice that this is a true unjust situation. If this is not fixed, and the next generation innovators realize it, they could change their field of interest. With my eager interest in science, the fact that the U.S. government is failing our scientists makes me upset. I have always dreamed of making nanorobots that can cure cancer. Our government needs to understand more that science is a vital part of our world, but the discoveries are not possible without money. If more and more people realize the problem, this will leave the United States with limited scientists. No scientists mean no innovation for our nation and no cures for diseases. The world needs more scientists as we enter an age of innovation. Without the necessary funds, the United States will continue to fall behind in the scientific lineup. The decisions the government makes now will greatly affect the future generations and ultimately may make students such as myself one day reconsider a career in science.