Is the NSF an example of the best of government, or is it a branch of the post office?

Years ago the National Science Foundation funded science for the promotion of the public good. The best aspect to government, shared grand purpose beyond the capacity of the singular, the small, or the isolated. Government can build, but mostly it manages. Barely and badly.

More than a decade ago, I was able to purchase research for the price of “duplication fees” from the NSF. The researchers were required to publish the results of their efforts. Thereby returning results for the money they had received. The grant wasn’t intended to fund a private firm’s profit goals, deferring research costs to the public while holding the profit for the firm. That appears to have changed.

… there will be more about this …