I think it's important to fund research for the sake of research because it's the only way to explore the unknown unknowns of the universe. At the extreme end,

I think it's important to fund research for the sake of research because it's the only way to explore the unknown unknowns of the universe. At the extreme end, it's a bit dystopian to consider the future of academia being limited to only topics that can deliver immediate economic value. But seeing how much government debt has ballooned in recent decades, it's disappointing to see moonshot research (literally [1]) may well soon be a thing of the past. [1] https://lettersofnote.com/2012/08/06/why-explore-space/ https://lettersofnote.com/2012/08/06/why-explore-space/