Peace Dividend

I enjoyed reading Jesse H. Ausubel's article ( The Scientist, Feb. 5, 1996, page 11) because he provided an historical analysis of the increase in the number of Ph.D.'s, and offered novel ideas to change the current situation. Unfortunately, his analysis and suggestions are based on his acceptance of the current fiscal policies of the federal government. This quiet acceptance troubles me greatly, because it will hurt future generations of researchers, and significantly decrease the quality of life for our citizens. I would like to make two points explaining why this acceptance is unacceptable, and why fighting for a change in those fiscal policies must take center stage in future discussions.

As a young researcher in the biomedical field, I believe that the taxpayers expect great improvements in the detection and cure of all diseases, and this progress depends on the advances of basic biomedical research. Therefore, it...