Shut Doi wn the National Science Foundation and save $7 Billion Per Year

According to the June 5 Issue of C&E News, Sen. Tom Coburn accuses the The National Science Foundation (NSF) of wasting $3 billion of US citizen money through mismanagement.

I will go one step farther and suggest that the total operations of the NSF are unnecessary and the agency should be disbanded. This would save US citizens about $7 billion per year.

From the NSF Web Page, the agency was created by Congress in 1950 "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense…" . Historically, "The 1940s were one of the pivotal decades in the development of American business. By the end of the decade Americans never had it so good". To put this into proper context, Americans had money in 1949, and Congress had little reluctance to spend it for them on pie-in-the-sky projects.

We are now 60+ years later, and the agency is rolling along following the same policies on which basis it was originally created. But, Americans no longer have the wealth of 1949, and we all know about the tremendous national debt and budget deficits of the federal government, as it continues on its merry way.

The original charter to promote the progress of science etc. still sounds attractive. However, Let's take a look at what the NSF is now spending money on, other than just the high cost of running its own operation with attendant salaries, building amortization and maintenance, etc.. According to the NSF webpage, it is tasked with keeping the United States at the leading edge of discovery in areas from astronomy to geology to zoology. It does this by handing out money to university professors to conduct "research". However, let's be specific about "research". While theoretically involves something which could be of value to the average citizen, in most cases, research projects are pet projects of the professors or the NSF employees granting the funds. This is likely to include such things as why a praying mantis has wings, or why a frog can jump 3 feet.


Let's also go back to the original charter. It is the responsibility of various organizations, such as the American chemical Society to "promote the progress of science". The main job of the pharmaceutical industry is to "advance the national health". It is Congress' separate responsibility to "promote prosperity and welfare". It is the Military's responsibility to "secure the national defense".

That leaves nothing for the NSF to do except boondoggle. Let's get rid of it and reduce the budget deficit by $7 billion per year.