NE1: Stimulating Research in Basic Sciences Act of 2012 - the STAR Act

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

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Sponsor: Simfan

Simfan, you have 24 hours until I kill this. Debate time will last 24 hours total.

[Simfan34]

This is partially meant as a response to the Medical Research Act. Atlasia has seen a marked drop in basic science research spending in recent years, and many of our vaunted private institutions that conducted such research such as Bell Labs, Sarnoff Corporation, or XEROX PARC, have either dropped out of basic research for projects that are lucrative in the short term or folded entirely. Indeed, in these days of fierce competition and dwindling profit margins it makes little sense to invest in research in the fundamentals or theory with little connection to daily operations.  As was written in Bloomberg BusinessWeek:

With the increasing focus on shareholder value that began in the 1990s as global competition heated up, Fortune 500 companies could no longer justify open-ended research that might not directly impact their bottom line. Today, corporate research is almost exclusively engineering R&D, tending more toward applied research with a 3- to 5-year time horizon (or shorter).

This was a luxury the monopolies or conglomerates of yesteryear had, but today’s corporations do not. But it is not a luxury, but indeed a necessity.

The many inventions of today- the tablet computer, the smartphone, the LCD television- were made possible by the innovations of decades prior- the transistor, the graphical user interface, and so forth, and those were backed up by simple scientific discoveries from even further beyond. This is something that Governor Nix noted in the past. But a link has been broken in that chain of discovery- the same science.  We are not engaging in basic science research, and thus cannot expect further innovation if we do not invest in the foundations of that innovation- such is common sense.

We today have seen manufacturing leave our shores, and whilst I would hope our government may one day take pains to see its return that is not the issue at hand today. We have placed our hopes for the time being in a “service economy”, but that, in the vein of thought of a Missourian expatriate I am loathe to find myself agreeing with, has given a few of us jobs in the finance sector whilst this “service economy” has meant, for the most of us, a job servicing customers at a fast food restaurant or clerking a checkout counter at a supermarket. Our rate of personal debt has soared, whilst growth in the economy is funneled to a select few. This is not their doing; it is instead that of the general business climate.

But we have a chance to rectify this. By investing in basic research we lay the seeds for another burst of innovation and the invention of the next generation, the chance to funnel their benefits into millions of well-paying jobs. But we need this soon, and indeed we need this now. Thus it is imperative that we conduct these efforts on a wide scale to achieve a “critical mass” of basic science research to accelerate innovation and bring their benefits to market sooner rather than later. That is also why we need to involve, and indeed make central, the private sector. The government may be good at conducting basic research, but it does so in a vacuum, where its only use is for paper writing and further experimentation. The private sector can bring these goods to market; make the experimental into the practical.

But this is a cycle, and it is only if we keep it rotating we can bring gain fruit from it indefinitely. I would like to see this bill replicated federally someday, and perhaps replace subsidization with tax credits, but until that day I think we can create millions of new jobs, and spur medical innovation to boot, with this legislation.

[bore]

A couple of thoughts:
1. I agree with Nix here, I get the feeling that the state is getting all the downsides but no potential upsides.
2. The cost of this bill would be huge.
3. Finally something which I was planning to put into the medical research bill (but kind of forgot) was a condition that drugs to be approved, have to be proven to work better, in clinical trials, against other drugs on the market, as well as a placebo. Hopefully this would encourage investment, as companies would know they were not about to be swamped by slick 'me too' drugs. Would this fit in this bill, because I'm not sure its worth its own, and this bill is all about encouraging research, which this move would also do.

Apart from these things, I'm inclined to support this bill.

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

Can someone get Shua to give us a cost estimate on this?

[Barnes]

This bill is well-founded, but I believe it needs to be more specific in its intent and mission.  For example, the first section states the funding shall be given to "small-scale research institutions" withouth stating precisely what that is.  Following on from that, what exactly is this research intended for?  I totally support the idea of this bill, but it needs to be further clarified and explained within the actual text.

[Simfan34]

Basic science, I'm pretty sure that's made clear.

[Barnes]

Basic science, I'm pretty sure that's made clear.

In what field; for what purpose; to what end; to meet what goals?

[Simfan34]

Basic science, I'm pretty sure that's made clear.

In what field; for what purpose; to what end; to meet what goals?

I'm certain I explain that in my initial advocation.

[Barnes]

Basic science, I'm pretty sure that's made clear.

In what field; for what purpose; to what end; to meet what goals?

I'm certain I explain that in my initial advocation.

You don't seem to understand, none of this is specified within the actual text of your legislation. This bill has no actual goals or requirements. I totally support research for the sake of science, but with such a large investment from the government, I would like to see specified areas of investment and return. This is somewhat stated in section three, but it needs to be expanded upon. I don't mean to choke scientific thought and discovery, but perhaps we can consult with the scientific community to find areas that they deem are in need of investment; from this research, we can inteligently plan where to spend our funds the most effectively.

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

Maybe Simfan intends for the money to be spent at the private institutions' discretion?

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

Extending debate time by 24 hours.

[Barnes]

I very much want to support this bill, but if the concerns made by the Governor and myself are not addressed in some way I simply can't.

[Simfan34]

I move for the bill to be tabled.

[Barnes]

I move for the bill to be tabled.

Ah well, if that is your prerogative I am sorry. Hopefully, we will pass legislation in the future that will accomplish the same as this, as well as meet our above stated concerns.

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

At the sponsor's request, the bill is tabled.