I think that the point is the other way around. Why should anybody go into science, given how little compensation there is for it? And that is the problem. I

I think that the point is the other way around. Why should anybody go into science, given how little compensation there is for it? And that is the problem. It is easier to pay people for things with short payback periods. That's why the car salesman gets a bonus for each car sold, but the engineer who designed the car does not. The engineer was more essential yo the product, but the connection between the salesman and the money is more obvious. The scientist is more useful to society, but the investment banker has a more obvious connection to money, so the banker gets paid more. We should add more incentive to the scientists, because otherwise the rational choice is to leave science.