The scientific establishment is in full voice this morning, with a letter in the Telegraph demanding yet more money from the hard-pressed taxpayer.
We urge the Government to demonstrate its long-term commitment to funding science and engineering as part of a strategy to boost growth and enable Britain to meet the social and technological challenges of the 21st century.
In 2010, the core research budget disbursed by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) was ring-fenced. However, the overall science budget has since been eroded by cuts in capital expenditure by BIS and to research and development in other departments, combined with the depreciating effect of inflation.
Of course, as we know, the causal links between economic growth and public spending on science are far from demonstrated - as Pielke Jr notes claims that such a link has been demonstrated are largely faith-based. In reality, the letter represents just another case of rent-seeking behaviour in the bureaucracy.
Having worked in manufacturing industry, I am aware of just how hard life is for those on the shop floor and how hard it will be in retirement. But it is these people who will be footing the bill for any new flow of funds to the scientific community. The scientific bigwigs who appended their names to this letter would have done well to consider the morality of their demands before they did so.
Their special pleading leaves a sour taste.