[jslezak]

Private industry does not run campuses full of graduate courses and basic research that America’s technological prosperity depends on

Those overhead fees go to fund that, so universities don’t have to be even mere full of nepo baby donor legacy admissions than they already are

[SJC_Hacker]

No, overhead doesn't pay for grad students or techs. That money comes out of the grant funding or tuition fees (if not funded off the grant)

[jslezak]

Dude this IS the grant funding they’re slashing. The NIH (and other grantmakers) make research grants and the overhead fee from that goes to the university. This is precisely what they’ve cut

[SJC_Hacker]

Direct costs, not indirect. Grad students and techs don't see that money, unless in rare instances for a grad student the grant funding is suddenly cut off for one reason or another (private grants or some sequester by the NIH)

[jslezak]

You are saying words. They make little sense however. The total cost of running these institutions can be broken down however you want. If the total doesn’t add up to the necessary amount they can’t operate