Trump policy capping NIH indirect costs at 15% will cripple biomedical research

And passing costs to the states to subsidize federal work at that. I just really wonder if that is something they would go for now. I definitely see why you are reasoning that is likely though

 

But that's not what that executive order states, is it? It's simply a statement that no more than 15% will be paid. If a contractor quoted you $100k for a job with a breakdown of 40% labor, 60% materials, and now you say I'll pay $55k because I believe no more than 15% should be spent on materials, would the contractor be OK with it?

A contractor would be able to tell you the F off and take another job, but in this case NIH has essentially a monopoly on necessary research that's unlikely to make the lab significant money. The only option now for many would be to find another job/career or another country to work in.

 

You lose the argument right here. Almost made it through two sentences!

 

The Gates Foundation is not a large source of primary laboratory-based research. They do a tiny bit of applied research but are mostly involved in implementation. I don't know why you are still trying to equate standard non-profits with primary research.