Willful Ignorance as Government Policy
The Trump Administration is systematically shutting down sources of vital information.
The Trump Administration is closing 25 scientific centers that monitor water levels across the U.S., which is vital information during floods and droughts. The centers also monitor aquifer levels and underground plumes of pollution. The government has canceled the leases for the centers, which will begin closing soon. Of course, this information is only significant if you think it’s important to deal with floods, droughts, and underground pollution.
This is not an isolated incident. For instance, the Administration is also cutting NOAA’s funding for weather satellites and extreme weather forecasting, which will make it harder to predict hurricane pathways. There have also been cuts at 120 field NOAA field offices across the country that gather weather data. And cuts are also imperiling the NOAA’s ability to provide data and forecasting that is vital to fisheries management. These cuts may have the most obvious impacts, but they are a small part of the Administration’s assault on government science and university research across a broad range of subjects. No wonder one of the world’s most famous scientific journals is asking whether science can survive Trump.
Although they haven’t been very clearly articulated, there seem to be three reasons for the Administration’s policies. First, it simply doesn’t rate knowledge very highly as a goal. There is a deep anti-intellectualism embedded in MAGA. As RFK Jr. advises people, why pay attention to scientists when you can just “do the research” in the far corners of the internet?
Second, there’s also the fear that data and research may not fit its political agenda. Better information about extreme weather could support more robust programs to deal with those threats rather than supporting massive budget cuts. More robust government programs aren’t part of the MAGA agenda. Even worse, information about extreme weather would also shed light on climate change, a taboo subject.
Finally, there’s the view that if research and data are important, someone else will pay for them rather than the federal government. For instance, states could fund their own weather stations, water gauges, and aquifer studies. Ironically, that switch would favor residents of wealthy states like California at the expense of Trump strongholds with weaker economies and smaller state governments. Or even better, count on the private sector to gather the information or do the research if it’s truly valuable.
And what’s the point of information that doesn’t have a cash value? Or information that fails to confirm your existing beliefs? Ignorance, in MAGA world, is bliss.