What the Presidential candidates should discuss

The government's science and technology spending should be a campaign issue for the Presidential candidates, urges G. Pascal Zachary, professor of practice at ASU’s Consortium for Science, Policy & Outcomes, in a Future Tense article recently featured in Slate. Zachary spells out why Presidential candidates should discuss government science and technology spending, its allocation and the resulting impact of the spending.

In the article, "The Most Important Issue Obama and Romney Aren't Discussing," Zachary states that the welfare state of science and technology is not providing an adequate return on investment. Zachary points to major flaws in the current system, which is "self-monitored and resist(s) attempts to permit ordinary citizens to express their own preferences" in the science and technology outcomes.

Zachary suggests questions for the candidates to consider and encourages them to explore the current state of government science and technology spending. He warns that what they will find is not in the best interest of the American people.

Future Tense is a collaboration among ASU, the New America Foundation and Slate magazine that explores the ways emerging technologies affect society, policy and culture. Future Tense creates daily content to further the discourse around these topics.