White House sees 'real danger' China will soon take R&D lead

[FarCenter]

CareerJournal - WASHINGTON - Compared to the rest of the world, the U.S. continues to lead in spending on research and development (R&D). But the rate of spending by other nations -- China, in particular -- is increasing at a faster pace. This fact is creating angst in Congress.

At a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing today on U.S. R&D spending, Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) the committee chairwoman, said that much of America's "exceptionalism" comes from its investment in science. "We cannot afford to let other countries out-invest or out-innovate the U.S.," she said.

But the committee's ranking member, Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), threw cold water on Mikulski's rallying call for R&D support, by linking federal debt and mandatory spending to science spending.

"An unfortunate consequence" of the government's other budget problems, said Shelby, "is the crowding out of important parts of our budget."

John Holdren, who heads the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the lead witness at the hearing, said that total private and public U.S R&D investments in 2011 was $429 billion. In second place was China, which spent $208 billion.

But China is increasing its investments rapidly, and Holdren said China will pass the U.S. "in a matter of a few years."

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9248007/White_House_sees_real_danger_China_will_soon_take_R_D_lead

[grahamhgreen]

1. While it pushes a costly trade deal that will help the process along at the same time.

Repeal the costly trade deals, or we will continue our decline.

[Victor_c3]

11. I don't know if it is so much that we are declining or that China is just out-growing us for now

The rapid rise and growth we see in China isn't uncommon when countries industrialize. The rate of growth is so high in China as they are essentially catching up to the US, Japan, and Western Europe. Given that it is a growth spurt, unless a new technology revolution hits the US, the Chinese are bound to catch up to us and be on our level in the near future. I don't like the trade deals either, but I don't think repealing them will do much good.

Sorry, I've been reading Thomas Picketty's book and I was looking to use my new-found knowledge and try to sound smart.

[grahamhgreen]

13. If costly trade creates jobs... Where are our jobs?

[redstatebluegirl]

2. With the anti-science agenda the Republicans have embraced are you surprised?

NIH and NSF funding continues to be cut to ribbons. STEM education in our high schools is at a new low in terms of test scores. I have said before we are going the way of a third world country. Ignorance is bliss....

[jwirr]

3. Exactly and we in the mean time make it harder for the young to go to college. We would do well

to support college attendance for everyone who is capable of passing the entrance exams.

[Nay]

4. And once scientists and researchers are out of college, they have to

go to some other country to work because THIS country decided it would rather have a bunch of cheap H1Bers than its own citizens do the R & D.

It's disgusting.

[jwirr]

6. Exactly. Not to mention that when an invention is implimented it is often by some company that

immediately takes it off shore so it will be cheaper to make.

Seems we are getting shafted from all sides.

[liberal_at_heart]

5. Maybe that's because we continue to decrease the federal money paid to universities for research.

And like everything else hand research over to the private sector. If the White House is concerned about this perhaps they should increase the federal spending to universities.

[HooptieWagon]

7. The answer is more testing.

No matter what the problem is.

[LittleBlue]

8. I'll buy property in China

Just in case this whole US democracy business goes tits up.

[KurtNYC]

9. "Spending" is not the same thing as results

China can do everything at least 10 times cheaper than we can.

Applied Materials had to fly in 100 interviewers just to screen all the job applicants for its new Solar Technology Center in Xi'an, China, last year. The company wanted to fill 260 high-tech jobs. It got 26,000 resumes. A fraction of those applicants were invited to interview. The final selectees, board member Andy Karsner tells me, "were top-of-their-class, English-speaking engineers. They're the best of the best."
...
This spring the U.S. will graduate about 8,000 Ph.D. engineers, an estimated two-thirds of whom are not U.S. citizens. About 150,000 students who majored in engineering, computer science, information technology, and math will collect bachelor's degrees. The Chinese government claims that in recent years the number in China has been well north of 500,000 and rising fast; even if overstated, as some believe, the real number is much larger than America's, and the quality of those graduates is improving.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/07/29/news/international/china_engineering_grads.fortune/index.htm

One thing we could do to help us in science, medicine and math is join the rest of the 21st Century world in the metric system.

[Bodhi BloodWave]

12. *tounge in cheek* But isn't the imperial system one of the things that makes the US exceptional n/t

[Orsino]

10. The US has unambiguously chosen to invest in its wealthiest families instead.

We should look to our aristocracy for solutions to the challenges we face in the future.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

14. They have more money

so that means that they're better and smarter than the rest of us, right?