Is physics too ingrown?

The state of physics—or of physicists—has deteriorated in the past several years. Support for physics has not increased, as it had been doing in the previous decades. Indeed, in some important areas it has decreased. Such a sudden change in rate of growth is ominous in itself to heads of projects and to physicists in more or less permanent positions. To our younger colleagues, who have not yet found a permanent job or who have not yet completed their graduate work, it has been catastrophic. How can we improve the situation?