The following link from the ALS Association has some interesting data regarding $34 million in two-year stimulus grants for neurological projects related to ALS:
https://ssl.capwiz.com/alsa/attachments/12_09_09_ARRA_Funding__Project_Names_.pdf
Here's hoping that these funds are as productive as the $50 billion (with a b) taxpayer investment in General Motors seems to have been. If GM can turn a profit in 2010, can we not figure out how to cure ALS in 2010?
At the risk of being crass, when the stimulus grants were first described as shovel-ready projects, I thought that we have tens of thousands of people with ALS who might be described in that way. A clever marketing person and some people with ALS (and good senses of humor) could have had a heyday with that. I'm glad that some of the funds going to NIH are directed to ALS projects!
ReplyDeleteIt appears that NIH got $31.2 billion (with a b)... so ALS-related neurological projects got one one-thousandth of the NIH stimulus funds.
ReplyDeleteIt sure beats a kick in the pants, but the tiny fraction tells us something about priorities. We still have much to do to change the priorities.
We should keep this under wraps. Would hate to see those tea-baggers demonstrate against ALS.
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