I agree. Public dollars should, as much as possible, be used to implement and advance open software and hardware. It's no longer just about "free" as in no cost

I agree. Public dollars should, as much as possible, be used to implement and advance open software and hardware. It's no longer just about "free" as in no cost, it's free as in no contract, no lock-in; and not "no one owns it" but rather "everyone owns it." There's a certain obligation and clear benefit for everyone to make it better, including easier to implement.