And it has long been accepted that improved worker productivity is the key to the increased competitiveness of a business, and of an industry, and of the general economic environment within a state. The article also quotes Stanford economist Paul Krugman on this same issue. And so here we have this tightly integrated cycle. Highly trained technical workers are required for the kinds of jobs that research and development help create. This all comes together when you put skilled workers into high-value jobs and promote economic growth.
Nobody knows the outcome.
My message to you today is that if you don't take it as one of your professional responsibilities to inform your fellow citizens about the importance of the science and technology enterprise, then that public support, critical to sustaining it, isn't going to be there. And I can assure you that this perceived lack of concern has not gone unnoticed in Washington. Clearly, this is a time of great challenge for science and technology in America. But, I believe we can seize this time as one of opportunity to work together in ways we have never done before, to raise our voices, together, to send out a clear and coherent message. This is not the time to plead for biology vs. chemistry or astronomy vs. engineering, or even basic vs. applied research or technology.