The news about the latest judicial opinion on stem cell funding brings up an interesting lesson in economics: uncertainty. Right now, I am facing a huge amount of uncertainty, specifically in regards to my daughter’s financial future. What is the best way to save for her when hyperinflation may be around the corner? What if there is no hyperflation by the time she is an adult? How will the tax code change? Will it be illegal to own or trade certain commodities?
Well, now scientists are feeling a bit of this pain that businessmen and citizens feel all of the time. They were told in the 90’s that they would get free money to study embryonic stem cells. Then Bush reversed that in the early 2000’s. Then Obama reversed that in 2009. Now a judge is reversing Obama. If scientists can’t depend on free money to fund their livelihood, then what can they depend on?
(I want to be very clear that, despite the rhetoric, this is only about federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. Private, state, and local funding is not at issue, and, therefore, the research has not been banned. See my earlier essay on this topic.)
8:29 am on August 24, 2010
