1. He admits that he has no proof that private firms would take up the slack if government stopped funding basic science research - only his bizarre notion that

1. He admits that he has no proof that private firms would take up the slack if government stopped funding basic science research - only his bizarre notion that science is NOT a public good. 2. He says that government has a DUTY to fund defense research, so clearly his whole argument excludes innovations and contributions to GDP from defense research funded by the state. In short, his argument is bollocks.