This is the government paying for a service.
Should a private cement company get public money for delivering cement?
Should a private cement company get public money for delivering cement?
a service public schools can do.
When building a highway, the government should put out notice and buy the best offering.
Im not sure why you would want government buying sub-par research just because it comes from a public school
Setting that aside, why do you think it is even desirable to limit funding to public institutions in the first place?
Seems like you're starting from this position and moving backwards.
If Public schools are superior, why haven't they already out competed private institutions? They have a pretty huge advantage from additional tax revenue.
That is not, however, what is happening. Institutions, without regard to whether they are public or private, are having research funding used as a lever to secure adherence to the political ideology of the ruling party, unilaterally by the executive branch.
The attempt to make this a debate about public vs private institutions is a distraction from and cover for that.