[unity1001]

> With the Internet the government got their pound of flesh through taxation of all the new enterprises that sprung up because of their investments

Really. With all the tax breaks and ongoing lowering of the top tax bracked for corporate profit. Even as they offshore their legal entity to dodge taxes...

Even if the capital gains taxes were 90% like back in Eisenhower era and it was actually enforced, that still wouldn't justify handing over publicly funded research to private actors to profit. Publicly funded everything should be made publicly available and usable.