Is it the cures or the competition?

Am I the only one noticing the rhetoric surrounding the push to get embryonic stem cell funding in various states?  I am reading lots of articles that use the terms "falling behind" and "staying competitive" and "economic boosts" fueling the frenzy to have your state be a stem cell Mecha.  This one from New York is no exception:

Other states' commitments to stem-cell research have made this year New York's "last, best chance" to retain supremacy in the field, the presidents of the state's leading health research institutions say.

Supremacy..interesting choice of words.  It goes on:

"We need to send a clear message to the global research community that New York state will be a leader in stem-cell research, including embryonic stem-cell research," Jackson said...

"We're right on the edge now," said state Sen. Joseph Bruno, the Senate's Republican majority leader. "We're on a cliff. Now we either have to go over it or we are going to lose ground."

State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said that point of slipping back has already been reached in New York.

"There is no question we are falling behind states that have gone forward, that have supported this," Silver said. "California has a very bold initiative. They are well on the way. New York has to be competitive, both from clearly a job perspective, and from a research perspective."

Clearly competition is a driving factor...could there be more?  Yes:

New York must embrace stem-cell research if it expects to remain a major player in medical research, Silver said.

"Unless stem cells are included, we're nowhere," he said. "You're in yesterday's research. Stem cells are the wave of the future as far as medical research is concerned."

All emphases are mine.

They sound like Hwang.  I thought finding cures was about "collaboration" and not about "getting and staying" ahead.  No mention of collaboration, or much about cures for that matter.

I have to ask: Is it about helping people or being "left behind"?  It is about cures or egos and money?  We shall see.