Yet Another Example of a ‘Cut’ That Doesn’t Exist
Charles Gibson on World News Tonight led off a report called “Cancer Cutbacks” on February 15 as follows (link requires compatible player and sitting through an AARP commercial; capitalized word reflects Gibson’s spoken emphasis):
Funding for the National Cancer Institute has been cut two years in a row. And now the Bush Administration is seeking a THIRD cut. The budget comes down as research costs go up.
But if you look at the National Cancer Institute’s fiscal year 2008 budget request (found by yours truly in about two minutes; line item details are here), you’ll see the following:
Okay, Charles, where’s the THIRD cut? And if you would deceive us about the third cut, why should we believe there was a first or a second?
The Business & Media Institute has much more, including seemingly obvious points that not all cures for cancer are the result of government research (in fact, most aren’t), and that the high costs associated with risk-averse Food and Drug Administration regulation keep many potential cures from being developed or, once developed, from getting to market.
