The argument being made here, that industrial research labs have disappeared because they did not produce enough return on investment, ignores competing sources

The argument being made here, that industrial research labs have disappeared because they did not produce enough return on investment, ignores competing sources of ROI. Today, the easiest way to make a lot of money is in finance, not discovering new things. Other stories on HN have bemoaned how Boeing has destroyed itself by shrinking engineering and expanding cost cutting. As is pointed out in another comment, if the Fed is subsidizing the stock market, finance is the place to be. Research not so much.