Congress voted against funding a cure for cancer just to block a win for Biden

vegeta@lemmy.world to politics @lemmy.world – 900 points –
Congress voted against funding a cure for cancer just to block a win for Biden
usatoday.com
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I don’t know how accurate this is

Biden made a rather cavalier claim that he was going to fund investments in medical science that would lead to a final cure for all forms of cancer within the next decade. And I think we can safely say that's bullshit.

However, ramping up blue sky medical research and public sector spending on the adoption of new medical technology would be helpful in treating a host of cancerous maladies and potentially curing or inoculating against others.

Consider that the US isn't even on the front line of cancer research anymore. Cuba's cancer research has outpaced research in the states for over a decade. That, alone, should tell you what kind of progress is possible with a little strategic public investment.

Whether this is true or not doesn’t change that they openly want to stall government, therefore this could be true.

Conservatives hate public investment, particularly when it threatens private profits. Liberals do too, abet not as fervently (see: our bipartisan obsession with the health of the domestic automotive, financial, real estate, insurance, and commercial export agricultural industries).

But this is more an issue of scoring political points. Republicans were happy enough to finance Operation Warp Speed under Trump, in order to fast track the vaccine they thought they'd get to take credit for in 2020. And they loved nothing more than giant state sponsored give-aways to Majority Leader Bill Frist's family owned Hospital Corporation of America.

So they're not strictly against government spending. They simply don't want another Liberal Democrat like Kennedy taking credit for putting a man on the moon.

While I get the point you’re trying to make, it’s just incredibly wrong about cuba. Carry on for the rest.

Source: I do lots of cancer related research.

it’s just incredibly wrong about cuba

How Cuba Became a Biopharma Juggernaut

Source: I do lots of cancer related research.

Clearly not enough.

Not to be pedantic, but an impressive pharmaceutical industry is not the same as leading cancer research. Still impressive. Not the same. Again, I get your point, but no need to exaggerate realities.

an impressive pharmaceutical industry is not the same as leading cancer research

That's both true and pedantic, but beside the point.

what if you logged on to the internet and were nice to people

Should we be nice to people who are lying?

Edit: Downvotes. So, it’s okay ✅ if I lie now. Good to know. You should be very concerned that there are bad actors here, who advocate for lying.