> the economy loses something like…graphics software? I think the trade-off is more than worth it to better understand the nature of our universe. You seem t

> the economy loses something like…graphics software? I think the trade-off is more than worth it to better understand the nature of our universe. You seem to imply that basic research has no long-term economic benefit, or maybe that the long-term benefit does not outweigh the short term cost. That seems like a pretty difficult implication to defend.