Amen. In my experience academic research is very different from what the wider public thinks it is.
You sometimes ask yourself: Would the public continue throwing their taxes at scientific research if they knew that most of their cash is just consumed to fuel the egos of professors?
This is true above and beyond just science. I get the need for research. I get the idea of pushing the boundary of knowledge, checked by peer review. The current system just seems very broken. People respond well to incentives, and they're incented to publish novel results no matter what. All this on the back of a lot of grad students, most of which whom will struggle to get jobs.
You sometimes ask yourself: Would the public continue throwing their taxes at scientific research if they knew that most of their cash is just consumed to fuel the egos of professors?