February 18, 2025 9:54AM # Should Governments Fund Research? By [Jeffrey Miron](https://www.cato.org/people/jeffrey-miron) and Jacob Winter --- SHARE Listen to this article Generated with [ ElevenLabs](https://elevenlabs.io/) AI technology. Loading the [Elevenlabs Text to Speech](https://elevenlabs.io/text-to-speech) AudioNative Player... ![Scientist with a petri dish and beakers, with virus graphics overlayed](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/2020-09/GettyImages-1212285236-min.jpg?itok=Pxev5zJr) The Trump administration sparked controversy this month by [reducing](https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-25-068.html) grant funding from the National Institutes of Health. The move, currently [blocked](https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/02/08/g-s1-47383/nih-announces-new-funding-policy-that-rattles-medical-researchers) by a judge, caps the percentage of grant funds that can be used for indirect costs at 15 percent. There are legitimate debates about a universal cap on funding for indirect costs, as well as about President Trump’s wrecking-ball approach to reforming government. But it is also worth asking whether governments should fund research at all. In a previous piece, we argued they should not. Read it [here](https://www.cato.org/blog/governments-should-not-fund-research). ##### Related Tags [Constitutional Law](https://www.cato.org/constitutional-law), [Department of Government Efficiency](https://www.cato.org/department-government-efficiency), [Libertarianism](https://www.cato.org/libertarianism) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).