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Originally Posted by Calgaryborn
Since there is a limited amount of government money that can be committed to research and no shortage of worthwhile projects to invest in why put money in a controversial area. Government money is actually tax payer money and should be used with consideration of whoes money is being spent. I don't know what the percentage of Americans oppose this stem cell research funding but, even if it is 25% that is a huge chunk of taxpayers.
If the pro research crowd is so certain that this is the holy grail they can invest or donate their own money.
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I'm sorry, but while I agree that taxpayer money shouldn't be spent in direct opposition to what the general populace wants if it is at all possible, you have to realize that there are unhappy people in every situation. Everyone has a gripe with how money is currently being spent, has been spent and will be spent.
Part of living in a large society is recognizing that you will not always get your way. You live beside millions of other people with different needs and wants. The government has the tough job of spending money in what it sees as the greater good of the people that they are employed to serve. If you truly want to adopt a "you want it, you pay for it" attitude for everything, you are best served living alone somewhere. There is always going to be something that the average layperson is funding without fully supporting it in a large society like ours.
This in my opinion, is in the greater good category. It might not be universally supported (the reasons boggle my mind however) but it is potentially ground breaking stuff that enhances the lives of everyone.
Also, huge agreement with Thor earlier in differentiating the motivation of research. I think that most discoveries that greatly influence how we live are usually the result of "curiousity" research. It is much more rare to go after something directly in scientific research and acquire it. Instead, most discoveries are byproducts of other research. You never know what you will uncover when you are investigating something, and it is often something that you would never expect.