Comment by kreelman

Climbing up on a soap box....

I'd really like it if the United States could very soon get rid of or at the very least eventually vote out Donald Trump.

The Nature article points to the MOF Nobel prize winner going to China. I gather this is because science is getting defunded in the US? I think defunding science shows an incredibly short term view and damages the future for the world, starting with America.

Have a look at this video by the Australian Economics professor, Justin Wolfers, working in the US, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkUEVl8uamM

I know there are problems with the US democracy that have been in play for decades. There is inequality, there is racism and religious bias... I think throwing out the entire system that largely worked doesn't solve these problems and in fact makes the future worse for our kids. The video above argues that the damage done now to universities will be noticeable in decades time. Even doing a large funding push to universities may not fully repair the damage being done now.

The US is not a perfect place nor a perfect actor, but when governed reasonably I think it is better than China in terms of its aims, philosophies and interactions. Hopefully his work done in China will be shared globally.