If you pay taxes to the United States of America, today's date (April 15th) probably triggers a flood of feelings. With many under economic duress, the tax bill is an unwelcome added demand on scarce (or nonexistent) resources. On the other hand, taxes fund government largesse such as the banking-sector bailouts and stimulus spending (I'm leaving aside for the moment the question of whether the present government largesse is really funded by taxes being paid today or those that our children and grandchildren will pay on April 15ths to come).
In any case, much of the basic science that gets done in the U.S., the U.K., and the European Union is bankrolled by taxpayers. Out of the thousands of dollars that you may be forking over to the IRS today, perhaps a few dozen will find their way into the hands of biologists, astronomers, and physicists. Some of this money flows through a pipe labeled "NASA"; some, through a pipe labeled "NSF"; yet more through a pipe labeled "DOE." Never mind which agency pays the bill: the buck starts with you, the US taxpayer (assuming that you, dear reader, fit that description).
Do you get your money's worth?
I can't answer that question, even for myself, much less for you. I can say that some of this research helps scientist find cures for cruel diseases; some of it helps astronomers unravel cosmic mysteries; and some of it leads to new ways to make things with great practical utility. Nowadays, some of it bankrolls commendable efforts to make scientific research available to the entire world via the Internet. (And then there's the question of where this Internet thing came from in the first place!)
A libertarian might argue that such efforts should be paid for privately, by those with a direct interest or stake in the outcome. And indeed, many major scientific projects - from National Geographic research vessels to sky-scanning telescopes - are built with money from private parties with a passionate interest in that particular kind of research. Thank goodness that for the most part these parties seem willing for the knowledge that they indirectly have "bought" to be shared with us all. Whether that is, or ever can be, an adequate substitute for publicly funded research is a question worthy of debate - and the debate may become heated if ours proves to be an age of ever-diminishing resources.
Copyright 2009 Joshua Roth.