MattMunnell.com

Let me start off by saying I have very little knowledge in the area of funding provided to universities. Probably not a good way to start a post that you want people to read but…let me offer my opinion.

I am so very worried about this loss of funding for universities – mainly because of potential loss of research in so many different areas. How many future breakthroughs in medicine, technology, mental health, engineering, and so much more will be missed out on because of the decision to eliminate the funding?

I understand that these universities have huge endowments and are sitting on a bunch of money.

So what

Keeping research going is vitally important for mankind. And if you want to take a smaller look – a more political look – it is important so we can maintain our lead in many industries and compete equally in others. We cannot rely upon for-profit companies to do the research. Sure, they can and will come up with some ground-breaking discoveries but sometimes, it is the non-profit centers that are able to make the breakthroughs because there is not the pressure to get a return on investment. We need both.

This decision may seem a relatively harmless decision now to some but we are self-inflecting a huge wound that will fester for decades unless clearer heads prevail very soon.