"in a decent society taking 56% of grant money should put some people in jail." A decent society made this a law because it makes the separation between "Money

"in a decent society taking 56% of grant money should put some people in jail." A decent society made this a law because it makes the separation between "Money spent directly on research" and "Money spent on things like the copy machine, internet, keeping the lights on, etc." transparent - unlike how it works in most private industry. Trust me, universities would love to be able to get rid of the concept of indirect costs. It's mandated by the government, and negotiated with them (at my university, at a slight loss sometimes).