Thoughts from Ronald Bailey at Reason Online on levels of funding for medical research: "The felt scarcity of research dollars probably results from two interacting developments. First, as biomedical knowledge increases exponentially the possible number of worthwhile experiments that researchers can imagine also soars. This leads to ever more proposals being submitted for funding consideration. Second, the questions being asked by researchers are now more complex, making biomedical experiments more expensive. Perhaps less benignly, overcautious regulatory requirements are eating up a lot of clinical pharmaceutical research dollars and slowing the introduction of new medicines. ... All I know is that the proper amount of research spending is that amount that will enable me and you to live as long we'd like. Is that asking for too much?" Remember that not all research funding is equally effective: it's the incentives that matter more than the dollar amount when it comes to results accomplished.

Link: http://www.reason.com/rb/rb100606.shtml