r/WallStreetbetsELITE 9d ago

MEME Didn't see this coming

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u/ZaphodsOtherHead 9d ago

You guys think this trade war shit is bad (it is), wait until the long-term consequences of destroying America's research institutions starts being felt.

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u/ImaginationNo1928 9d ago edited 9d ago

100%. And the social support systems for the vulnerable that are vanishing.

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u/ZaphodsOtherHead 9d ago

Yeah, letting people slip through the cracks is a huge drain on productivity. You can claw that back eventually though if you change your mind later (just start funding those systems again). The damage to America's research institutions might very well be irreversible though. There's a network effect with premier research institutions and you can't overcome it even with huge investment. Look at Germany in the 1930s. They had the best research institutions in the world. Then the Nazis destroyed them and Germany has never recovered that excellence. We're seeing *historical, irreversible* damage to the long-term American economy right now. The American economy is built on R&D, and once that edge is gone, it's gone forever.

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u/qts34643 9d ago

Yeah, don't forget how the Russians were once leading in research as well.