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Money from the federal government flows in to support scientific research, medical research, every kind of research imaginable. Many patents get generated from research funding, among other things.

My last job at UC Santa Barbara was grant-funded. I worked there for about 7 years, full time. UCSB is a major employer in our region. (Since I was returning to grad school myself I was happy to take a less than half time office job— in my previous student life I had always worked 20 hours a week and thought nothing of doing it again, but for a variety of reasons I didn’t stay long with this particular boss. ) The professor himself was grant-funded — he was a biochemist who was short-listed for a Nobel, so a valuable commodity in his own right. If I had stayed on as a full-time University employee instead of seeking fulfillment as a PhD elsewhere, one of my plans was to take classes in Contracts & Grants that were designed as part of the employee advancement program.

Which is to say, federal money comprises a chunk of the budget for all important universities.

Gov. Newsom, gods bless him, is ballsy and in the moment. I don’t think we Dems knew just how lucky we were when we elected him. And on a personal note: damn term limits.