When President Biden unveils the next phase of his Build Back Better recovery agenda in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, he’s expected to propose a $3 trillion spending plan broken into two major components. The first consists of investments in “traditional” infrastructure, such as transportation, waterways, broadband, and clean energy. The second component will consist of what the administration calls “human infrastructure,” such as investments in early childhood education and community college. President Biden should be commended for his commitment to bolster these two categories of public goods that have been neglected for far too long by federal policymakers. But to raise American standards of living and outcompete our adversaries, Biden should prioritize a third category that is equally (if not more) important in fueling the engines of human progress: research and development (R&D).
Every technology that powers our modern economy, from the cars that we drive to the phones in our pockets, is the culmination of years or even decades of R&D. When it comes time to commercialize new technologies based on such discoveries, the countries that maintained and cultivated their scientific community have a head start on the competition. The United States was once the indisputable global leader in R&D, but our leadership has faltered in recent years. In 2018, China spent more money on R&D than any other country, dethroning the United States for the first time in decades. Meanwhile, other countries including Japan and South Korea are spending substantially more on R&D as a percent of their gross domestic product than the United States is. America must renew its commitment to investment in R&D so we can attract top talent and remain the leader of innovation in the 21st century.
Read the full piece on Forbes.
