It doesn't look like most of HN is in the R&D field, but from the inside it's obvious why we need government funded blue sky research. Once you get into the research and science field you realize how many old ideas you are using, ideas which were just developed because of scientists were advancing the state of the art their chosen fields.

The fact is, it takes decades to realize the implications of fundamental breakthroughs in math, physics and chemistry. The long time horizon and inability to judge the worth of these endeavors at the time means a patronage model is basically the best bet. It's kind of sucks but we just have to pour money into research hoping for a better future.