Correct in that there's other, bigger problems with government funding than this.
I will say what sort of makes this weird and special in my mind in terms of government stupidity; this is a field of research that everyone is interested in. It isn't something that wouldn't ever be touched by the private market, like missile shield defense or astronomically expensive, and counterproductive, trauma care or dialysis treatment that the government should step in where others won't.
If stem cell research is really worth all that money, smart investors will throw that money in no problem because there's no concern they won't make returns. Funding research publicly is only necessary when it won't be funded privately. And for those of you who say, "Well, you just ensure that they charge exhorbitant prices for whatever develops", sure, but just because the research is publicly funded doesn't mean the product won't be sold privately, at high cost.
Once the product is made is the time, if there is a time, for the government to step in and regulate the price for the needy.
I will say what sort of makes this weird and special in my mind in terms of government stupidity; this is a field of research that everyone is interested in. It isn't something that wouldn't ever be touched by the private market, like missile shield defense or astronomically expensive, and counterproductive, trauma care or dialysis treatment that the government should step in where others won't.
If stem cell research is really worth all that money, smart investors will throw that money in no problem because there's no concern they won't make returns. Funding research publicly is only necessary when it won't be funded privately. And for those of you who say, "Well, you just ensure that they charge exhorbitant prices for whatever develops", sure, but just because the research is publicly funded doesn't mean the product won't be sold privately, at high cost.
Once the product is made is the time, if there is a time, for the government to step in and regulate the price for the needy.
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