[paul_f]

One of the most naive statements I have ever heard on HN: "I firmly believe that private enterprise will be able to efficiently make immediate use of any important scientific breakthroughs or discoveries."

The reality is that companies don't do anything with academic discoveries until they are shovel-ready. Translational research is critical and horribly underfunded.

[michaelt]

Well, it's industry-dependent. The pharmaceutical industry spends plenty on internal research; they fund some academic research; and there's a revolving door between academia and private industry.

Most industries aren't like this, of course; I doubt my barber or my accountant have much use for academic research output.