California has a poor return on investment in stem cell research

Don Suber:
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine has invested $2.7 billion in stem-cell research. It redistributes taxpayer money to researchers.

Californians approved this plan 71% to 29% in a referendum in 2004. Unlike other referendums to ban gay marriage or ban giving welfare to illegal aliens, no federal judge reversed the decision of the people -- and so California went ahead with the plan.

The state passed out taxpayer money to tax-exempt groups (ah, irony) and now after 14 years and $2,700,000,000, California has received its first royalty check for...

(Drumroll, please.)

$190,000.

Multiply that 10,000 times and wow, you will still fall $800 million shy of breaking even.

The check came from the City of Hope’s Alpha Stem Cell Clinic, which received $8 million in grants.

Its director, John Zaia, told the San Francisco Chronicle that this royalty check proves skeptics wrong.

"I think this illustrates that a state agency can actually fund research in the private community and get a return on its investment," Zaia said.
...
This seems to confirm the stories that say California schools are failing their students if they think this is a good deal.

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