Put another way, this isn't just "politically choosing where the money goes," this is using the political machinery for us to determine what the cost of somethi

Put another way, this isn't just "politically choosing where the money goes," this is using the political machinery for us to determine what the cost of something is. You could argue that we shouldn't use the political engines to do this, but that quickly runs against the fact that politics just means people, at large. Is why even "scientific communities" would have disagreements on what should be prioritized. I do think we could do better, but I hesitate to offer a concrete better way due to my own ignorance in knowing of one.