Originally posted by jolepp It seems that there has been a bad harvest (maple sap?) and therefore there is a relative shortage, and this has contributed to the price hike of the syryp. Also, it seems that if these research guys get their grant, the cost of producing the stuff could be significantly reduced, and consequently Ira's syryp bottle should cost a lot less. It is interesting to note that a $200 million industry cannot fund a $200k research project that would seem to be very important to its future, but this depends on public money. I suppose "capitalism" as such doesn't always work to produce optimal results without the government getting involved ;-)
Well, along with what I said, myself, most of that industry's value isn't in sitting around producing investment capital: it's more directly about the people and the actual goods and labor. Has more to do with the people and the land, and that's a place where government-funded research can be good. The big makers of the ersatz of course, get plenty of subsidies, but their interests aren't really aligned with the people's on that one, even as consumers.
Research that benefits more than corporate profits is one of the things the GOP is going at as though it were the 'big waste' in the government, ...including things like pure science that cost the taxpayers less than they lose in pocket change every year and are more likely to improve their quality of life.