There is a lot of incorrect information out there on the role of research funding in the economy. Does it waste money or create it? Here, I use some data and back-of-the-envelope projections from my own lab at UC San Diego and University of Rochester to argue that a $10M investment in the form of grants & contracts will generate many hundreds of millions in combined earnings of trainees in the private sector and commensurately pay back the American taxpayer many times over.