| > There's an implicit assumption in there that reducing taxes will cause people to 'invest' more Typically, in times when interest rates are positive and default rates acceptably low (i.e., normal times), people put their money in a bank and the bank invests it. So the amount invested stays the same and the money doesn't appear or disappear, it's just invested by someone else. So I don't see this implicit assumption here. > Also governments, need to set up/support entities that do figure out how to disburse funds appropriately. Exactly and the money to sustain such councils is not used for research but for bureaucracy. And as you already mentioned, these 'well established processes' are not exactly simple and may happen to consume a rather substantial amount of the money supposed to be used for research. Not in all cases but in enough to produce events like this: "EU Resarch Council slams bureaucracy" [1] > Also, there are fundamental areas of research that would be completely ignored if we relied solely on the wealthy to solve problems. I disagree - if it is important to someone, then it will get researched. Of course, the very poor will not receive so much attention but then again that's not the case today either. This discussion is actually more about trust in government and who is better able to identify the needs of a society. I just want to express that I disagree with your view. [1] http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=2010042... |