[pfdietz]

At some point physics entitlement has to end -- why not here? We can't just keep scaling up the size and cost of fundamental physics experiments. Eventually the cost becomes so large that platitudinous arguments for them don't work.

[mmooss]

How can you look at current and recent US science and call it 'entitlement'? Have there been larger cuts anywhere in modern history?

[micromacrofoot]

We absolutely can, and I reckon we will... this is like a fraction of a percent of science funding which is a fraction of a percent of GDP, we spend more on maintaining warheads we can't use

10% of the US military budget for one year could build a 100km collider, RHIC is 4km

[Izikiel43]

It's not a question of "can", it's a question of "should". No one knows what discoveries can happen and what the spillover from them could be in the future. In essence, it's a bet, a moonshot.