Nothing has captured the imagination of local and state economic development agencies quite like the life sciences industry sector. After all, it promises high paying jobs in an industry that promises to deliver huge profits and, consequently, plenty of tax revenue that, in turn, will allow these government entities to fund whatever programs and services they and their constituents desire.
It’s an industry sector full of promise, something an economic powerhouse like the United States can ride to another 50 years of global economic dominance.
As a result, an ever-increasing number of states now offer very attractive financial incentives in an attempt to establish and nurture life science clusters.
These same local and state officials also recognize the critical importance of education as the fuel that will propel the life sciences engine and, while they might argue over how best to improve the quality of that education in order to ensure we have a steady supply of well-trained scientists and engineers, no one disputes the central role our high schools, colleges and universities — not to mention our immigration policies — play in determining whether or not we are able to continue to feed that pipeline of research talent.
| Not that government funding is not important but, let’s face it — only the government and Paris Hilton measure success based upon how much money they spend. |
However, the key to ensuring the future of life science sector in this country does not rest with how much money the government devotes to that sector. Not that government funding is not important but, let’s face it — only the government and Paris Hilton measure success based upon how much money they spend.
Instead of focusing their efforts on pumping more money into life sciences, which the private sector can do, governments should concentrate on ensuring that we continue to provide an environment conducive to scientific discovery and commercialization.
In the case of the federal government, we need to increase the number of H1B visas we grant, not only in life sciences, but in the technology sector in general. We are not graduating enough U.S. born scientists and engineers, and our graduate schools are loaded with foreign-born talent we need to insure that the U.S. continues to be a fertile ground for innovative technology.
How can the federal government best help? Simple. It can raise the annual number of visas we grant, at least until we fix our secondary education pipeline. After all, the private sector can generate investment capital to build the industry sector, but only the federal government can change immigration law. Let’s all focus on those things we do best.
| On the other hand, we also have to recognize and accept the fact that just about every significant scientific advance throughout history has also presented us with moral questions that pit man against God. This is just the latest example. |
The second issue centers on stem cell research. It, too, requires immediate attention and, while it will be a lot more difficult to resolve, it’s not something we can allow to fester for the next several decades. The stakes are too high and life sciences companies, faced with the uncertainty over restrictions to their research, will opt for locations where they do not face those restrictions, and no amount of government financial incentives will change that.
If we are able to navigate our way to a mutually acceptable solution to these moral and scientific imperatives, we need to begin by respecting each other’s sincere beliefs. In other words, we need to raise the level of debate above the superficial level at which it now resides.
We need to understand that, on the one hand, stem cell research raises serious moral questions for a significant portion of the American population. To dismiss these concerns as (if you’ll pardon the gross oversimplification) the uninformed ravings of uneducated religious fanatics is more a reflection of intellectual laziness on the part of these condescending critics. The path to compromise is rarely, if ever, paved with insults.
On the other hand, we also have to recognize and accept the fact that just about every significant scientific advance throughout history has also presented us with moral questions that pit man against God. This is just the latest example.
We need to work our way through this conundrum, and the quicker, the better. If we do not, the life science revolution will happen, in large part, away from our shores and we will find ourselves on the outside looking in on the life sciences revolution.
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