[feklar]

Don't governments already do this by giving universities large research grants? http://research.fas.harvard.edu/funding-sources#federal

We could triple the grants, but that money has to come from somewhere and every corner of society has a vocal group of voters who want that money. If the future US federal leader makes it a priority to cure the HIV epidemic in foreign countries while taking away cancer research funding or slashing social security that sounds more like political suicide than leadership.

I wish he would elaborate on his education vision too. "New tools" is totally vague. Khan academy and other remote tutors?

[kalms]

But I think his point is that they're grants without a specific end goal (i.e mankind on extraterrestrial rock). Having a deadline with a tangible end-result can be beneficial.