You Paid for the Science. Why Are You Being Charged to Read It?
American taxpayers funnel tens of billions of dollars into federally funded research each year, yet the published findings of that research routinely sit behind paywalls charging $30 to $50 per article. This investigative opinion piece traces the money, examines the policy failures that created this contradiction, and makes the case for the sweeping open-access reforms that the American public has already earned—and paid for.