The Great American Brain Drain
Self-Inflicted National Alzheimer’s
With the loss of this brainpower, America also will suffer the loss of the accumulated knowledge and experience that have been built over decades
‘Major brain drain’ – Researchers eye exit from Trump’s America. Pic – Billings News – kulr8.com
By Anil Madan
Republican right-wingers in the US are fond of referring to the “Deep State” a mythical Hydra and of “draining the swamp” – an allusion to cleaning out the fraud, waste, redundancy, and bureaucracy in Washington. The ongoing dismissal of federal workers and shutting down of federal agencies and functions reflects what Trump and the champions of Project 2025 believe is necessary to remake America in the mold of the 13th century. Never mind that Christopher Columbus supposedly discovered America (n.b. it was already there and known to its denizens) thinking that he was heading to India, a couple of centuries later, but I digress.
The law of unintended consequences is unfolding the stark reality that there is no imaginary swamp but an all too real draining of brains, learning, expertise, institutional memory and competence, and vast databases that have housed and sheltered accumulated history and knowledge.
The Trump administration has announced staggering cuts in federal funding of research and science. As well, there have been massive cuts in funding for federal agencies and government organizations that collect, analyze, process, and distribute data on economics, climate and weather, pollution, energy, transportation, trade, and almost every activity that goes on in the nation.
In a stunning finding, the journal Nature, reported that in a poll it conducted, more than 1,200 scientists who responded — three-quarters of the total respondents — are considering leaving the United States following the disruptions prompted by Trump. Europe and Canada were among the top choices for relocation.
NPR, National Public Radio, noted in an article that the US has had a long history of being a leading nation for research and actively recruiting scientists from around the world for significant projects and studies. The Manhattan Project begun in 1941 is perhaps the most famous (or notorious) secret project that culminated in the development of the first atomic bomb. Scientists recruited from Europe played a key role in this research. Many had fled Europe in the turmoil of WWII or to escape Nazism and fascism.
Consider this statement on the website of a French university: “In a context where some scientists in the United States may feel threatened or hindered in their research, our university announces the establishment of the Safe Place For Science program dedicated to welcoming scientists wishing to pursue their work in an environment conducive to innovation, excellence and academic freedom.”Read More… Become a Subscriber
Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 11 April 2025
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