Government Needs to Increase Spending on X

Today X is research.

There is little evidence that government investment in research is beneficial.  Generally what advocates do is find something that was immensely beneficial (the internet, semiconductors, GPS) then talks about how the government funded it.  What they haven't proved to my knowledge was that these innovations would not have occurred had the government not acted.  I find it hard to believe that semiconductors wouldn't have caught on in the absence of government funding.

Government invest can be immensely beneficial if no private party stands to gain enough by his innovation but society's benefits would be enormous.

I do agree with the final paragraph that the government should make innovation in the pharmaceutical industry less costly.  But this is evidence that the government already impedes innovation.