When Thomas Jefferson first spoke of the idea of an “Empire of Liberty” in 1780, he envisioned America as an independent, continental nation based on self-government. This vision would stand against European encroachments and spread freedom throughout the world. Whether the United States has been successful in this endeavor is open to debate. However, due to the efforts of Jefferson and the other Founders as well key figures who followed them, another framework was created, a “Commonwealth of Knowledge”. It has become the physical, social, and legal infrastructure that has driven innovation and progress. It has provided prosperity and upward mobility not just for the United States but also for the rest of the world. However, this Commonwealth is under threat.
The Founders were innovators. Benjamin Franklin is known for his many scientific accomplishments. George Washington consistently upgraded his farms, using modern techniques. Jefferson invented various gadgets to increase his productivity. The Founders even embedded protections into the Constitution by providing for patents and copyrights. As President, Washington saw the need for a military academy to train officers not just in military affairs but also engineering. It was Thomas Jefferson, who previously had founded the University of Virginia, who signed into existence the United States Military Academy at West Point. It should be noted that to ensure that the knowledge taught at West Point spread throughout the country, the school required that cadets came from every state through its congressional nomination process. This process still exists today.
This interest in science and innovation did not end with the Founders. As President, John Quincy Adams advocated for a national observatory and for a naval academy. Both of which would come to fruition years later as the Naval Observatory and the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. Later in Congress, Adams honored the wishes of James Smithson, who bequeathed $500,000 for the establishment of an institute for the diffusion of knowledge. The result was the Smithsonian Institute.
Abraham Lincoln, the only President to hold a patent, further pushed education and innovation. In 1862, he signed the Morrill Act of 1862 establishing the Land Grant University System. The legislation allowed for the proceeds from the sale of federal lands to be used to establish a network of colleges and universities that would provide access throughout the country to education in agriculture and engineering. The Morrill Act ultimately provided that technical workforce that drove the United States industrialization in the late 1800s.
The 20th century also saw a focus on education, research and development. In 1944, Congress unanimously passed and Franklin Roosevelt signed the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, also known as the GI Bill. Among other items, this bill provided for tuition and other educational expenses. Per the National Archives, within seven years, roughly 8 million returning veterans received educational benefits.
Dwight Eisenhower continued this focus on research and development. He signed the National Defense Education Act that provided research funding to colleges and universities. He also created NASA, which boosted research. John F Kennedy continued and expanded NASA and his fulfilled promise of putting a man on the moon, brought with it scientific breakthroughs.
The creation of Medicare and Medicaid as part of Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society program also deserves mention. No doubt they have come to serve as key components of our social safety net. However, when looked at through the lens of innovation, these programs provide access to cutting edge discoveries and create a revenue stream that employs trained knowledge workers.
Today, we see the fruits of this focus on research and innovation. On the macro-level, the US leads the world as a scientific and technological superpower delivering learning and innovation globally through its research and the workforce it trains. On the micro-level within the US, we see innovation centers, colloquially called “Eds and Meds”, serving as regional economic engines.
The University of Pennsylvania contributes $37 Billion annually to the metro-Philadelpia region and remains the largest private employer in the city of Philadelphia. Coupled with Penn are several other anchor institutions including health systems and universities that drive the regional economy. According to the Economy League of Philadelphia, one of those institutions, the University City Science Center, contributes $13 Billion in economic impact through its business incubation services. The benefits are not exclusive to metro-Philadelphia, Penn Medicine researchers are responsible for recent major medical breakthroughs to include: mRNA technology that led to Covid-19 vaccinations; CAR T-Cell therapy that addresses certain types of leukemia and lymphoma; and personalized CRISPR gene-editing that corrected life-threatening metabolic diseases in children.
Another example of the success of “Eds and Meds” is the Research Triangle in North Carolina. Anchored by Duke University, the University of North Carolina, and North Carolina State University as well as major health systems, the Research Triangle creates $178 Billion in economic output annually according to Kenan Institute. Researchers from the region also are responsible for numerous achievements to include the creation of stents and of 3D Ultrasound.
The key takeaway from “Eds and Meds” is that while it is easy to bemoan the idea that the US does not manufacture the volume of products it once did, we have moved onto a more valuable form of economic output, creating and disseminating knowledge through a highly trained workforce. This economic model is not insular either. The knowledge and the knowledge workers we develop boost quality of life and economic productivity in other industries and in other regions.
Despite the achievement of this endeavor, this economic model is under threat. The current immigration policy is robbing our “Eds and Meds” economy of much needed human capital. Foreign-born individuals work at every level of this economy as well as pay to learn at our universities in order to bring this knowledge to their native countries. Medicaid cuts will limit job opportunities on the healthcare side of “Eds and Meds” and deny millions access to quality healthcare. In Atlantic County (NJ), the largest non-Casino employer is Atlanticare Health System. Yet according to Fitch Ratings, the Medicaid population is about 25% of Atlanticare’s patient base and thus, constitutes a key revenue stream.
The research cuts will be devastating. For example, per WRAL, the Research Triangle would stand to lose almost $2 Billion in NIH funding along with about 7,500 jobs. This is only NIH funding, funds that go towards curing diseases, and does not include cuts to other research funding.
The system is not perfect. We need to constantly re-evaluate its effectiveness and ensure equitable distribution of benefits. However, the system works well. Those who want to destroy it might be surprised to realize this system actually is one of key factors that makes America great.
Hopefully, sanity soon prevails to restore and expand this vision that has been part of the American experience since the beginning. We need to revitalize this Commonwealth of Knowledge so that we do not become an island of despair.