Tevatron atom smasher shuts after more than 25 yearsI'm not qualified to give an opinion about whether it was worth $35 million per year to keep this facility in operation; the Large Hadron Collider in France has superseded the US facility in terms of size and power, and I don't know what the continued research potential of the US installation is.
One of the world's most powerful "atom smashers", at the leading edge of scientific discovery for a quarter of a century, is about to shut down. The Tevatron facility near Chicago will fire its last particle beams on Friday after federal funding ran out....A bid to extend the Tevatron's lifetime by three years was denied in January 2011 because the US Department of Energy could not come up with the extra $35m per year required to keep the machine running. An expert panel recommended the extension but its advice was not followed, turning the quest for the Higgs into a one-horse race.
But this story seems so symptomatic of the United States of today: the militantly dogmatic opposition to taxes by some Americans is increasingly registering its effects in any number of ways, from embarrassingly decrepit infrastructure, to run-down and understaffed schools, to lagging technological capability in all sorts of things from transportation to wireless communication to energy efficiency. It just feels increasingly like the US has given up.I suppose we in the US can feel pride in the fact that we pay extremely low taxes. But it's awfully hard to be proud of the smaller, meeker future that comes with it.
It means, for one thing, that the people who would have applied to Chicago for work will now apply to France.
ReplyDeleteAnd some of them--possibly most, or even all--will stay there.
Anyone who voted against that $35 million has no right to complain about "skill shortages" or "brain drain."
Well, our space program is second to none! Or maybe a bit bigger than none. Which would be kind of sarcastic except for the fact that ALL the national space programs out there -- American, Russian, Chinese, European, Iranian, Indian -- running in slow motion for 40 years now. Fusion power's 30 years away from practicality, as it has been for the past 30 years. Nanotechnology had a lot of promise as well in the 1980's, but has pretty much dropped by the wayside -- "nano" has become a marketing term for chemical firms, much like "atomic" and "new and improved."
ReplyDeleteUnless it involves computers or sex, people in the developed world just aren't that eager for brand new worlds, whether brought about by invention or political revolution. We're looking at a very stodgy future in the next century, I suspect, without any real excitement until the barbarians come to bury us. All the billions of "us."
Won't that be fun?
"the militantly dogmatic opposition to taxes by some Americans is increasingly registering its effects in any number of ways, from embarrassingly decrepit infrastructure, to run-down and understaffed schools,"
ReplyDeleteGiven that we spend more on education than any other society on the planet, I think you fail to convince that "militantly dogmatic opposition to taxes" is the cause of our failing schools. Perhaps unions that care more about teacher salaries than student outcomes play some role? And perhaps the routine squandering of public funds by our betters in all levels of government plays some role in taxpayers reluctance to support further waste?
Great site....I enjoy your posts. But a little lazy thinking here...
<span>"the militantly dogmatic opposition to taxes by some Americans is increasingly registering its effects in any number of ways, from embarrassingly decrepit infrastructure, to run-down and understaffed schools," </span>
ReplyDeleteHow did we get here, with that militantly dogmatic opposition? What about those academics at FED? Well, higher taxes is good thing!!!
Italy's 44% of GDP (and more, also in 2009) has been spent to provide free services to all italian families (an even to inmigrant individuals from extra UE nations) like hospitals, schools, hiways, retirement wellfare, etc etc.
ReplyDeleteWe pay taxes even if we do not use those services...
USA citizens, having low tax rates, have to pay for all those services or they have to underwrite insurance policies, if they can't afford them.
It's just a matter of politics or freedom.
It' better o "social wellfare" like Sweeden or a "market oriented nation" like USA?
Who knows? Are u rich or poor? It changes ur point of view...