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Universities Spend Millions on Accessing Results of Publicly Funded Research (theconversation.com)
Mark C. Wilson, a senior lecturer at Department of Computer Science, University of Auckland, writing for The Conversation: University research is generally funded from the public purse. The results, however, are published in peer-reviewed academic journals, many of which charge subscription fees. I had to use freedom of information laws to determine how much universities in New Zealand spend on journal subscriptions to give researchers and students access to the latest research -- and I found they paid almost US$15 million last year to just four publishers. There are additional costs, too. Paywalls on research hold up scientific progress and limit the publicâ(TM)s access to the latest information.
Yes, New Zealand is complaining about paying for access to research publicly funded by the US.
Why do you hate capitalism and the free market concept? It's been the most successful form of government ever enacted, triumphing time and time again. It's not without issues, but you're trying to challenge what's right rather than fix what's wrong.