A great deal of government research funding is of the "full employment act for scientists" variety. Inevitable when accountability for actual real-world results

A great deal of government research funding is of the "full employment act for scientists" variety. Inevitable when accountability for actual real-world results - as opposed to accountability for completing the project you said you were going to complete - goes out the window. For more in that vein: http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2007/10/a-few-thoughts-on-the-funding-of-aging-research.php http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2007/10/a-few-thoughts-on... "This might as well be language lifted from a mythical government release on the Full Employment Act for Gerontologists. It's all so grey and tired - rescue the scientists, pay the scientists, help the scientists. Note the utter absence of any sort of discussion of goals or results. What are these scientists actually doing? What is the value of it? Where are they going? When will they get there? What does it mean to me? "This sort of thing is exactly why there is little public support for or understanding of mainstream aging research. I've long said that basic research is no different from any other human endeavor. It isn't magic, immune to planning - you can set goals, plans and schedules. You can invest in research in exactly the same way as commercial companies invest in research day in and day out. Those who claim that you can't set goals, timelines, explain matters to the public, create excitement and make real fireworks fly in an area of fundamental research are generally much more interested in the steady flow of dollars or their own particular hobby than in actually getting something meaningful accomplished."