It is ironic and sad that whoever came up with these cuts does not even recognize that most of the recent “conservative” ideas in economics—the importance of “rational expectations” and the impotency of conventional macroeconomic policy, the disincentive effects of various income-support programs, the magnitude of the regulatory burden, and the arguments for deregulation—all originated in, or were provided with quantitative backing by NSF supported studies.

Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis …, loc. 805