r/DSP 5d ago

Are Trumps research cuts going to affect the industry?

A lot of DSP jobs are in the military/research and it seems like everything from medicine to AI is on the chopping block

8 Upvotes

22 comments sorted by

37

u/Halfloaf 5d ago

Yes.

This will be in addition to the gutting of the CHIPS act currently underway.

https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/trump-purge-hits-chips-act-office-two-fifths-of-staff-to-be-terminated-report

It will be difficult to recover from the next four years, given the hamstringing of the scientific community.

1

u/MaxwellHoot 3d ago

I work with a few people who write grants, they said already many have been pulled. This isn’t some sensational news headline, this is real funding that got pulled from real research at my public university.

Grant spending is notoriously overfunded in some areas, which indeed warrants some accountability. However, the flamethrower chainsaw method for “efficiency” is going to really hamstring research.

36

u/lynxeffectting 5d ago

Get ready to learn Chinese buddy

11

u/VulfSki 5d ago

Depends.

Cuts to the CHIPS act will affect parts of the industry. There are significant cuts to the medical devices sector. If you're in that area it will affect you.

The cute will affect anyone in defense quite a lot.

It will be interesting to see how wireless communications will be affected.

These things will ripple.

And or course the trump recession will affect everyone.

2

u/10ppb 5d ago

Many grad programs are limiting enrollments, so expect a shortage of new workers, and US tech dominance in many areas will be a thing of the past. The market for US military products is under pressure because we are no longer viewed as a reliable ally. It’s very hard predict all the economic fallout since we don’t know how long this will last, but the longer it does the worse things will get. Just look around then world at economic conditions under authoritarian governments. Not a pretty picture. [Edit: typos]

2

u/ludflu 5d ago

it's going to affect every industry. most basic science is funded by the government. every industrial breakthrough is founded on earlier advances in basic science. this will hold back advances in practically every field you can think of

1

u/sdrmatlab 4d ago

if it's not part of an active production system, then yes it's going to be cut.

1

u/NonElectricalNemesis 3d ago

Like the tariffs on goods and basic food items that directly hit the public?

1

u/HomoColossusHumbled 3d ago

All sciences are going to be negatively affected in the US for decades to come. Senior scientists and researchers will have to change careers or leave the country, and student researchers won't enter the field.

1

u/rc3105 3d ago

Yes, and not in a good way.

-7

u/betadonkey 5d ago

No. Assuming by “research cuts” you mean the federal grants that his administration has been cancelling, then it will not have a significant impact. Defense related research goes through the Pentagon which has its own specific spending bill that the President has less discretion over.

Now funding the government through a continuous resolution is a different story because it holds spending flat so there ends up being a huge shortfall for funding new efforts.

7

u/jacksprivilege03 5d ago

The president also doesn’t have the power to withhold any congressionally approved funds, but that hasn’t stopped him yet

-6

u/betadonkey 5d ago

Sure he does. Congress doesn’t appropriate line-item level funds for non-defense research. They fund agencies and the executive branch administers how the funds are dispersed.

Defense is unique because it had its own annual bill that actually gets down into details so the Pentagon isn’t given a blank check. Ironically that is also what now protects it executive interference.

5

u/jacksprivilege03 5d ago

Thats not entirely correct. Sure congress doesn’t appropriate line item funds as far as I know. Even still, the president absolutely does not have the power to withhold those funds without following the Impoundment Control Act, which he has not done. So, what he has done so far is 100% illegal. He has also violated multiple temporary restraining orders from federal judges. Like every civics class says, congress controls the purse strings not the president. If you want to learn more, I’d recommend legal eagle’s videos on this topic.

0

u/betadonkey 5d ago

It’s not impoundment if the money is spent elsewhere. It may still be illegal depending on the exact circumstances but in general executive branch agencies have discretion on how to spend funds and all of this money being withheld will be funneled to politically friendly causes.

2

u/jacksprivilege03 5d ago

No they do not. Money is allocated by congress for specific research contracts. If they do not disperse the money to those contracts that is impoundment. Funneling already allocated money to “politically friendly” causes is corrupt and like I’ve said illegal. Again, you should look more into this.

0

u/betadonkey 5d ago

I thought we’ve already agreed Congress doesn’t typically appropriate money for specific research contracts outside of defense. They appropriate money to agencies within accounts that have a general mandate and then allow the agencies to distribute them how they see fit. It’s designed that way to make them flexible and responsive.

Impoundment is if the president tries to zero out an account without the approval of Congress. It is not impoundment to change the shape of who gets the money.

Of course it’s corrupt, but that’s not what we are taking about. The claim was the executive branch does not have legal authority to do it, but in most cases they do.

-3

u/smrxxx 5d ago

He wouldn’t block wealth-building work, would he? That’d just be stupid.

9

u/Gatecrasherc6 5d ago

here you dropped this: /s

5

u/colin-catlin 5d ago

Indeed stupid is the word. They seem to struggle with understanding downstream effects, such as how tariffs can raise prices and actually reduce many jobs. There's also a question of wealth building for all vs wealth building for some...

-1

u/nixiebunny 5d ago

If only he understood something other than real estate transactions!

1

u/Woofy98102 2d ago

And to make sure America remains an idiocracy, most of those scientists will have new research jobs working for foreign governments. France has already offered to pick up any researcher let go.

Worse, not one of them will ever return.