Government
investment in basic scientific research is an essential factor in driving innovation, according to a panel discussion that coincided with the release of a report examining the impact of declining federal support for basic research.
Since its founding in 1902, the Carnegie Institution has been a pioneering force
in basic scientific research.
Another poll, by Pew (18), finds that the majority of Americans think that government investments
in basic scientific research (73 %) and engineering and technology (74 %) pay off in the long run, with only small differences between Democrats and Republicans.
To get the idea, you only have to look at the sputtering state of President Obama's mostly unfunded innovation hubs, or look once again at the energy sliver in the graph showing America's half - century history of public investment
in basic scientific research.