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Not For Free

Dec 18, 2009

Some comments on a previous post over at DrugMonkey's place said that NIH grants were free money and wondered why taxpayers should subsidize researchers' livelihoods — on comment in particular said that research does not provide any "deliverables." DrugMonkey tears these arguments up:

Sure there are deliverables. Knowledge. We're supposed to generate new understanding of the natural world, broadly put. And that's exactly what we do. There is uncertainty and failure to deliver, perhaps, but all the government can do is to halt payment or fail to award subsequent funding.
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