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Here's the money quote:
"If we had pursued what President Nixon declared in 1970 as the war on cancer, we would have cured many strains. I think Jack Kemp would be alive today. And that research has saved or prolonged many lives, including mine."This is the liberal fallacy of infinite resources:
Liberal: "We could cure cancer if we spent more money on research."And no matter how much the conservative agrees to spend, the liberal will always say it's not enough: "More, more, more!" It is as if the liberal believes that anything can be done if we only spend enough federal money to do it. But the problem is, there is not an infinite amount of money in the world, and thus there are limits to how much can be budgeted for any given purpose.
Conservative: "How much more?"
Liberal: "More."
I would be willing to bet that federal spending on cancer research has increased every year since 1970. Arlen Specter always has been, and always will be, a selfish, arrogant man. It is only because of his vanity -- his desire to be called "senator" -- that he did not retire many years ago.UPDATE: Linked by Tigerhawk and Dad 29. Thanks!
UPDATE II: Human Ipecac!
oh, we spent the money. That and a lot more, chasing theories such as "cancer is caused by viruses."
ReplyDeleteThat sentiment -- the liberal fallacy of infinite resources -- goes back to Samuel Gompers, the first President of the American Federation of Labor (AFL). He was once asked, "Well, what do you want?" His reply: "More."
ReplyDeleteI looked at some of the spending numbers for the NIH and they are staggering. And you can add to that Bush's global AIDs initiative.
ReplyDeleteThe NIH budget was 11 billion in 1995. Within a decade it was 28 billion. This year it will hit 33 or so billion. And that doesn't count what Bush has done with AIDS.
I laugh at the "more" joke, but while it is funny the joke is on us. It is no joke.