>Try convincing the AC guys to work for parts cost + a skilled worker wage * number of hours worked, see how well that goes over. They'll laugh you out of the room, and you'll be left sitting on your ass without air.

Huh? Thats exactly what they do. Parts + labor

And at what markup do they bill you, compared to what they paid their supplier, and to what they pay the guy who drives out to install it?

(Hint: Nearly half of what you pay on the bill is their overhead.)

It’s wonderful that I can compare proposals and know the bill. To pretend NIH grants are anything remotely like normal private sector contractors is absurd and shamefully deceitful

> It’s wonderful that I can compare proposals and know the bill

Does the NIH not, like, compare proposals before deciding on whether to pay for them?

> To pretend NIH grants are anything remotely like normal private sector contractors

Please enlighten us to the differences that are at all pertinent to this question. Specifics, not vague scare quotes.

While there are classes of grants with different levels of funding, the grants are generally considered on their own merits and not based on how much overhead a the recipients institution would charge. Thats a side negotiation.

It's a side negotiation that, as I understand, happens through a different process, set down by law. But there's still a process, and contracts have been made by the parties involved, and there's a legally mandated timeline for renegotiating those contracts that is not being followed.

You are right that it is different from how the private sector operates. The private sector does not even let you think about negotiating either their overhead or profit margin.