As Trump Cuts Science Budgets, Researchers Look Abroad. This Will Be The Death Knell Of The U.S. Economy.

This will be the death knell of the most prosperous economy in the history of the world. Scientific innovation and the world's best and brightest studying at American universities is one of the biggest reasons for this country's economic prosperity. Trump is destroying all of this.

Scientists are not going to continue to work in this country under Trump's hostile regime that does not value education and scientific research. It's that simple.

From the Washington Post --

Kartik Sheth, 53, is an astrophysicist and, until a few weeks ago, was the associate chief scientist at NASA. On March 10, he got an unexpected email: “I regret to inform you that you are being affected by a [reduction-in-force] action. … Therefore, you will be separated from NASA at the close of business on April 10, 2025.”

One of 23 NASA employees laid off that day, including everyone in the Office of the Chief Scientist, Sheth is now looking for a job — anywhere. On Friday, he arrived in Paris to attend a conference and check out the environment for scientific research.

“I don’t know if I’ll find a job in America given the cuts to science,” he said. “I think we could have a pretty major brain drain in the country. … I think people are going to start to wonder if this is the place for me to continue to do science.’”

With billions of dollars in research grants eliminated or frozen by the Trump administration, scientists across America in a broad array of fields face an uncertain future and the possibility of layoffs. An untold number like Sheth are looking abroad, thinking of continuing their careers far from the turmoil here.

While it’s unclear how many will actually make the move, American scientists are being actively recruited by countries including France, Spain, Germany and China that are hoping to reverse the flow of expertise into the United States that has been the norm for decades.

“People who were certain that they were going to spend their careers in the U.S., and stay in the U.S. for the next phase, are now totally reconsidering,” said David Baker, a biochemist at the University of Washington who shared the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2024.

The United States now faces a “wholesale change in mentality” across the science community as a result of President Donald Trump’s actions, he said.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025/05/21/brain-drain-science-cuts-jobs-trump/

RIP U.S. Democracy said:

This will be the death knell of the most prosperous economy in the history of the world. Scientific innovation and the world's best and brightest studying at American universities is one of the biggest reasons for this country's economic prosperity. Trump is destroying all of this.

Scientists are not going to continue to work in this country under Trump's hostile regime that does not value education and scientific research. It's that simple.

From the Washington Post --

Kartik Sheth, 53, is an astrophysicist and, until a few weeks ago, was the associate chief scientist at NASA. On March 10, he got an unexpected email: “I regret to inform you that you are being affected by a [reduction-in-force] action. … Therefore, you will be separated from NASA at the close of business on April 10, 2025.”

One of 23 NASA employees laid off that day, including everyone in the Office of the Chief Scientist, Sheth is now looking for a job — anywhere. On Friday, he arrived in Paris to attend a conference and check out the environment for scientific research.

“I don’t know if I’ll find a job in America given the cuts to science,” he said. “I think we could have a pretty major brain drain in the country. … I think people are going to start to wonder if this is the place for me to continue to do science.’”

With billions of dollars in research grants eliminated or frozen by the Trump administration, scientists across America in a broad array of fields face an uncertain future and the possibility of layoffs. An untold number like Sheth are looking abroad, thinking of continuing their careers far from the turmoil here.

While it’s unclear how many will actually make the move, American scientists are being actively recruited by countries including France, Spain, Germany and China that are hoping to reverse the flow of expertise into the United States that has been the norm for decades.

“People who were certain that they were going to spend their careers in the U.S., and stay in the U.S. for the next phase, are now totally reconsidering,” said David Baker, a biochemist at the University of Washington who shared the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2024.

The United States now faces a “wholesale change in mentality” across the science community as a result of President Donald Trump’s actions, he said.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025/05/21/brain-drain-science-cuts-jobs-trump/

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It's part of the pattern. Money Uber Alles and the ones with the most are running the show. First concern- protect what they've got. Second- increase it. Science doesn't do that reliably.
One example of that thinking- in Scotland most consumer electricity is produced by wind power. With decades-worth of North Sea oil still unpumped. In America the policy is to double-down on hundreds of years old low-tech energy as long as there's one drop of oil or one lump of coal left unsold in the ground. The oil-igarchy is running the show while the rest of the world researches and innovates their way into the future.

Grand Mal said:

It's part of the pattern. Money Uber Alles and the ones with the most are running the show. First concern- protect what they've got. Second- increase it. Science doesn't do that reliably.
One example of that thinking- in Scotland most consumer electricity is produced by wind power. With decades-worth of North Sea oil still unpumped. In America the policy is to double-down on hundreds of years old low-tech energy as long as there's one drop of oil or one lump of coal left unsold in the ground. The oil-igarchy is running the show while the rest of the world researches and innovates their way into the future.

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One of the reasons I have found the reticence to back new green technologies in favor of burning carbon is that even if one doesn't believe that climate change is a real thing it doesn't change the fact that the rest of the planet is moving on from burning oil.

The US voluntarily ceding the development and ownership of the next generation of power production and consumption to other nations... most likely China... so the dividend structure of petroleum companies can remain in place is just self imposed economic suicide.

The Trump administration is also gutting grants for medical research.

The cure for cancer and other human scourges will now probably be discovered in Europe or Asia.

Does DonOld not realize the Trump family is not immune to disease?

So many people have no idea why publicly funded fundamental research is done and how vital it is to the development of medical treatments. Republicans tend to demonstrate this ignorance regularly.

Helix said:

So many people have no idea why publicly funded fundamental research is done and how vital it is to the development of medical treatments. Republicans tend to demonstrate this ignorance regularly.

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But you see this one time they put a shrimp on a treadmill so CHECKMATE LIBS!!!!!!!

Jezcoe said:

But you see this one time they put a shrimp on a treadmill so CHECKMATE LIBS!!!!!!!

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Exactly.

On the other hand, there's this :

Science is the one thing that should be funded more, not less. The strength of a country's Science is tied to its economic, military, and educational strength.

RIP U.S. Democracy said:

This will be the death knell of the most prosperous economy in the history of the world. Scientific innovation and the world's best and brightest studying at American universities is one of the biggest reasons for this country's economic prosperity. Trump is destroying all of this.

Scientists are not going to continue to work in this country under Trump's hostile regime that does not value education and scientific research. It's that simple.

From the Washington Post --

Kartik Sheth, 53, is an astrophysicist and, until a few weeks ago, was the associate chief scientist at NASA. On March 10, he got an unexpected email: “I regret to inform you that you are being affected by a [reduction-in-force] action. … Therefore, you will be separated from NASA at the close of business on April 10, 2025.”

One of 23 NASA employees laid off that day, including everyone in the Office of the Chief Scientist, Sheth is now looking for a job — anywhere. On Friday, he arrived in Paris to attend a conference and check out the environment for scientific research.

“I don’t know if I’ll find a job in America given the cuts to science,” he said. “I think we could have a pretty major brain drain in the country. … I think people are going to start to wonder if this is the place for me to continue to do science.’”

With billions of dollars in research grants eliminated or frozen by the Trump administration, scientists across America in a broad array of fields face an uncertain future and the possibility of layoffs. An untold number like Sheth are looking abroad, thinking of continuing their careers far from the turmoil here.

While it’s unclear how many will actually make the move, American scientists are being actively recruited by countries including France, Spain, Germany and China that are hoping to reverse the flow of expertise into the United States that has been the norm for decades.

“People who were certain that they were going to spend their careers in the U.S., and stay in the U.S. for the next phase, are now totally reconsidering,” said David Baker, a biochemist at the University of Washington who shared the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2024.

The United States now faces a “wholesale change in mentality” across the science community as a result of President Donald Trump’s actions, he said.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025/05/21/brain-drain-science-cuts-jobs-trump/

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The attacks on higher education, science, free flow of information, and immigration is a superpower committing seppuku. It's just tragically dumb.

Many nations are recruiting from the talent pool in the US for their own nations research. Kind of like how Germany got raided at the end of WWII.
This is going to hurt us competitively for a long time. The best and brightest will want to go where there is a political and social climate conducive to their work.
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/29/nx-s...an-scientists-amid-cuts-to-scientific-funding

Minerva said:

Many nations are recruiting from the talent pool in the US for their own nations research. Kind of like how Germany got raided at the end of WWII.
This is going to hurt us competitively for a long time. The best and brightest will want to go where there is a political and social climate conducive to their work.
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/29/nx-s...an-scientists-amid-cuts-to-scientific-funding

Click to expand...

Let's always remember which political side/members are responsible for the brain drain that will happen to this country.

Among Trump's long list of debilitating shortcomings is his pathological myopia. He has never strained to see any future horizon when there are piles of riches never more than one day's, and one arm's length away. He can't even imagine what making America Great would be in the future -> -> , because he's intent on making America Great AGAIN, ... as it was in the PAST. Being a pathological real estate robber baron by nature, he longs for the days of no regulations, no equality for minorities, no votes for women, no labor or environmental laws .... basically no obstructions to his revised "manifest destiny"of expanding the Empire. MAGA! ... "Great Again" ... just like we were 170 years ago!

And now, not only from "sea to shinning sea", but all the way from the Arctic Ocean, down beyond the newly christened Gulf of America, and even all the way to the Eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea, with a new Riviera at Trump Plaza Gaza. He'll even annex the country of Panama, yet another imperial territory to add to Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, etc. etc. The emerging Kaiser Drumpf aims to make us America Über Alles, every fascist dictator's dream. And despite those very obvious facts, the ****ing morons who voted for him are still waving banners and cheering him on. They know not what they've done.

Gordy327 said:

Science is the one thing that should be funded more, not less. The strength of a country's Science is tied to its economic, military, and educational strength.

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Yeah, so what? What's in it for Trump?

Stealers Wheel said:

Yeah, so what? What's in it for Trump?

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He loves the "poorly educated."

This means more and more medicines and technologies will be coming out of other nations, rather than America.

This will all be resolved with tariffs on foreign meds and tech. Easy peazy.

MAGA has been pretty clear that its vision is an America that no longer creates, innovates, and thrives as the world's leading edge of information and knowledge workers, but rather one that serves as a nation of laborers catering to whatever countries succeed us as the world's rich consumer economies. Shut down the universities and shut off scientific and technological research, we're sick of living in the first world.