Bill Gates Urges More Spending
In an speech at George Washington University, Gates urged President-elect Obama not to drop his campaign pledge to double the amount of foreign assistance by the end of his first term and warned that recent improvements in education could be at risk with cuts in funding, the Post reports. "In a crisis, there is always a risk that you take your eyes off the future and you sacrifice long-term investments for short-term gains," Gates said. "You have to seek both. … We should have a bigger goal than getting the economy growing again. I think we should expand the number of people who are contributing to the economy and benefiting from it."
Gates reiterated his message in an interview with CNN, saying that while an economic stimulus is needed, investments in technologies for the future are needed as well. "The key point I'd make," he said, "is that in addition to that stimulus, you've got to fund the kind of scientific work and educational investments that could really have us be a much better country as we emerge from the recession."