"Behold the 'innovation deficit,'" writes Science magazine's Jeffrey Mervis to begin a 24 October article. He continues:

US science lobbyists coined the phrase last year to help make an economic argument for increasing federal funding of basic research, namely, that the current spending levels are too low for the United States to remain a global leader in innovation. Given political and budget realities, erasing this "deficit" anytime soon will take a minor miracle. But the phrase seems to be catching on, despite the fact that a one-time surge of funds could create its own problems.

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