Washington keeps telling scientists that "you people are just like everyone looking for a handout" and that "if this stuff you want to do is really worth doing, private industry should fund it." I disagree--indeed, I strongly believe that government support of entrepreneurial research and development presents a golden opportunity to the taxpayer. If one considers the government as an investor, each dollar spent on R&D has the potential for returning many more tax dollars in the future, with a multiplier effect much greater than that of any other federal spending.
As an example: About 10 years ago I had an idea for improving the efficiency of drug discovery. To explore this idea, I joined a struggling young software company and obtained support from the National Institutes of Health under its Small Business Innovation and Research (SBIR) program. Since the funding went toward salaries and equipment, a substantial proportion was ...
