Unfortunately it's not cynical but the reality. Most people would be shocked how much time academics have to spend on grant writing and other administrative thi

Unfortunately it's not cynical but the reality. Most people would be shocked how much time academics have to spend on grant writing and other administrative things. The whole system is completely broken, essentially we are applying for money to spend time on writing grants to apply for more money. The unfortunate reality is that in the experimental sciences there is no way around this. You need the funds to be able to run experiments (grad students are part of this as well) and if you ever stop you will never be able to start back up again. Essentially you need to be able to show a track record & preliminary results to be successful at getting a grant, if you stopped applying for grants you have neither. Moreover often universities will give you more teaching duties because you are not bringing in research funding. It is a vicious circle.