And if the government doesn't fund science, the only ones who fund it are private investors and companies, which... a) Are more interested in doing research fo

And if the government doesn't fund science, the only ones who fund it are private investors and companies, which... a) Are more interested in doing research for their monetary interests. Therapies for a rare genetic disease? Bad luck, not enough money in ~20 patients / year. Better encryption? Where's the money in that? Studies about economic imbalance? Who cares. b) Are more interested in applied rather than basic research. This is a consequence of a) really, but research that doesn't produce tnagible benefits we can use to make shareholders happy next quarter are not that interesting. Ironically, without basic research, applied research is completely impossible. c) Are under no obligation to share their findings. Public Research == Public Results. Private Research == Intellectual Property.