[ExI] Health care in the USA

[spike]

...
> > There is no doubt that the US leads in medical research, and 
> > scientific research in general. But almost all of the basic 
> research 
> > is either government funded or funded by not for profit 
> organisations.
> > Pharmaceutical companies pick and choose from this "free" 
> research to 
> > decide what drug candidates they are going to pursue.
> >
> ### This is the usual government self-serving propaganda. The 
> government is funding only 15% of all non-military research in the US.
> Rest comes almost exclusively from for-profit entities... Rafal


This observation is significant for a reason.  During the previous
presidential term, we heard so much about how Bush disallowed stem cell
research.  But of course he disallowed only government funding of embryonic
stem cell research.  Notice the private research entities, which have *real*
money, were free do develop embryonic stem tech, but they were not investing
much in that line.  They could see so many inherent limitations.  It was a
bad idea.  

The private money guys went straight for the bigger prize, adult stem cell
therapies.  These are starting to pay now.  We still haven't any real
promise from embryonic stem cells; they are too dangerous.  They want to
become a baby, or failing that a huge tumor.

Yet still we hear those who will say Bush set back medical research because
he disallowed stem cell research.  If you want to see what future medicine
is going to be, look at what private companies are doing, for they have the
money and few restrictions on how they can use it.

spike