Agreed. I don't think it's easy or that unchecked government funding is a panacea. But I do think it fills in a public need that the free market is blind to. A

Agreed. I don't think it's easy or that unchecked government funding is a panacea. But I do think it fills in a public need that the free market is blind to. And perhaps structurally incapable of addressing. (Bezos running a charity newspaper notwithstanding) The NIH / DOE / NSF grant process has its trend-following and insider problems, but generally parcels out money in an acceptable way. It's not impossible.