Trumpism is causing the United States to lose scientific talent. Cutting federal funding for science and reviving the Red Scare is driving international students away and making our own scientists leave for other countries that have the common sense to say, “What? More smart people? Sure, come on in!”
As with so many other aspects of the Trump regime, this self-inflicted brain drain invites apt analogy to Nazi Germany. Hitler drove scientists out of Germany in the 1930s, providing a gift to other nations and weakening his own war effort. Research by German economist Fabian Waldinger finds this exodus of scientific talent did more long-term damage to German science than the Allied bombings of World War II:
In the same way as the Nazi’s racist policies for human capital, the bombing attacks serve as an exogenous shock to physical capital. Ultimately, it allows to determine which of the two production factors is more important for the research productivity of universities. The results are very clear-cut. In the short run, bombing damages show a negative effect on research outputs. However, this effect is not very persistent. Already by 1961, universities that experienced a lot of destruction have restored their productivity, compared to universities which were bombed less. By 1970, they even turn out to be slightly more productive. Presumably because the reconstruction equipped them with state-of-the-art equipment.
In contrast, the dismissal of Jewish scientists caused a substantial decline in research output. The effect is particularly strong if a department lost its most productive researchers. Star scientists, like Einstein, cannot be replaced easily. Something that we knew already from Azoulay et al. (2010). What is striking, however, is the persistence of the effect. The drop in productivity is still visible in 1980, the last period that the data covers. Departments which lost one of their colleagues in the 1930s are still suffering from it 50 years later. Waldinger estimates the total loss of scientific publications to be around 34% in the disciplines of physics, chemistry, and mathematics [Paul Hünnermund, “Exodus in German Science,” personal website, 2014.11.24].
We could say Trump is dropping bombs on America’s universities and its scientific preëminence, but that would understate the long-term damage America will suffer from losing its smartest people.
Gosh. Its so nice to know there’s no climate change. No need for solar or wind power. Scientist’s, who needs them, their all Democrats. Elon will get us to Mars anyways. Its fun mimicking king don after all. Seriously.