I wanted to give you kudos for stating the level-headed answer that isn't brought up often in these doom and gloom articles:
>...funding is not so bleak that it's hopeless. [It] does however require me to pick and choose only the most promising projects
I feel part of the reason for the anger shown in this conversation is the definition of "academic freedom." Academia is more free than other avenues of research, but it isn't completely free; your grants have to be convincing enough to get funded, and this is how the system was built. This distinction can be subtle, but can only be seen with a certain degree of level-headedness.
>...funding is not so bleak that it's hopeless. [It] does however require me to pick and choose only the most promising projects
I feel part of the reason for the anger shown in this conversation is the definition of "academic freedom." Academia is more free than other avenues of research, but it isn't completely free; your grants have to be convincing enough to get funded, and this is how the system was built. This distinction can be subtle, but can only be seen with a certain degree of level-headedness.