What role do you think government should play in science?

Understanding more about the nature of the world around us and beyond defines civilizational progress. Science encompasses that understanding and the methods and tools we use to advance our knowledge. The job of Government should be, first, to secure and maintain human dignity, then to ensure science advances without sacrificing our humanity.

This means not only funding science to enhance our welfare, but all areas of science; this especially includes science not directly supportive of economic interests or science that can be freed from them. Scientific education, not only for those likely to enhance science, but to encourage each individual's understanding of the universe.

The US Government should return fully in its support for scientific research. Since World War II the US Government has supported scientific research through a thorough grant process and must return to its previous partnership with research institutions, both private and public. It is vital for the United States to lead the world in research to advance technology and for the betterment of the health of mankind.

Unfortunately, during the pandemic some scientists allowed themselves to be politicized. The result was an alienation of the public. Scientists in the past were revered for their honesty. Now we have been reduced in that esteem.

Business exists to make money, the government exists to help people. It is very hard to convince a publicly owned business, such as a pharmaceutical company, to invest in anything that won't give them a great return on their investment. Governments shouldn't have the same goals. They are the only ones that are going to provide money to develop a procedure or new medication that doesn't have a direct line to an early profit.

People have gotten convinced that science is absolute, but our understanding of the world is continuously changing. The 21st century economy is based on that knowledge. Money is made by gambling on how that will change in specific directions and when people make money on specific science, they expect to keep making it and push the government (and voters) in the direction they need it to go by investing in the government (and voters) to keep things going their way, even when there are bad effects like more climate change instead of less and fewer jobs instead of more, things we are already seeing. We need knowledge-based investment as well as profit-based investment, and that is where the government has to fill in to complement corporate investment.

Many people tend to think that the ignorance of the current adminstartion is the reason for this problem. But it is not. It is "corruption". The money saved in science gos to the pockets of the current administartion and to his/her followers.

What you describe is truly heartbreaking.

This is for our potus: “The good thing about science is that it’s true whether or not you believe in it “ Tyson

Our science community may not recover from the effects of trump. it's shocking to know that so many Americans are gung-ho is support of trump insanity. Science and all the contributions made by science should be in the top five of all of our governments concern. Where America is at today is disgraceful.

Your question is too short-term, and ignores the underlying cause of our predicament. The lay public is the ultimate arbiter of government policy. During the past 30 years it has steadily decreased its trust of academic scientists, because they have become so politicized that they are viewed more as preachers than honest brokers of data. The phrase "settled science" is a key symptom of the preaching arrogance. To members of the working class, university elitists are more interested in ideologies than their everyday struggles to live even a shred of the American dream. Vannevar Bush couldn't have predicted this result of his dream.