TLDR; We will lose a generation of young scientists and their discoveries.
Hello. I've lurked MMM and the forums for about three years, but never was impelled to post before now. One reason why my family never went hardcore on the FIRE is because we were never interested in retiring: my husband loves what he does and will not retire until forced to, and I am a SAHM, looking forward to returning to work when our youngest goes to kindergarten. So what pulled me out of the woodwork?
Well, Trump's stance on science leads us to believe that heavy cuts to scientific research funding are imminent. My husband, a biologist, is very concerned that the science budget will be cut and looted. Atmospheric and earth sciences are toast. Luckily for us, since Congress is filled with old people who fear getting sick, biomedical research will survive in some form. All the same, we can expect many scientists to leave the profession as the already-contracted percentage of grants funded shrinks, and basic research (science that seeks to unravel root causes and find novel systems, and that sometimes leads to the great breakthroughs that causes all research to leap forward) will fall off the priority list.
My husband is very good at his profession. We feel that though it's a risky and not a very remunerative life, the knowledge he gathers is a true, if small, contribution to the good of humanity. But it seems likely that many like him in mid-career will have to abandon basic research and turn to the commercial sector, turning their talents to prioritize corporate profits. And what will happen to the ten young people working in his lab, four of them also with young families? They will look for jobs and some will not find them, and perhaps never return to science.
For myself, I was hoping to return to science after doing my time as an IT consultant and at home. But by the time American science recovers (if ever), I may be too old. My job for now is to help our family prepare for hard times, hence a closer reading of the MMM site.