if you listen to all this and think the u.s. is on the right track, alas, the problem is it is not. federal funding for research and development has been barely keeping up with inflation in recent years. if you look at the numbers from the national science foundation. since big entitlements like social security are mandatory spending programs it is discretionary spending like science that often bears the brunt of the budget axe. this comes at a time when others around the world are moving fast. the united states has dominated the world of basic science for years, even decades, but recently its share of global research and development has been falling, from 37% of the total in 2001 to 30%, according to the national science foundation. a scientist points out china is on course to surpass the united states in the percent of its gdp it spends on research and development in just a few years.