Having been reading HN for years, I can confirm that yummyfajitas is not kidding.

Although I think he was referring to financial aid rather than graduate stipends.

> Take the people who are living on the largess of others (e.g. grad students on a stipend,

Ah, okay... yeah.

I was on a stipend during grad school. And I was grateful, rather than resentful, towards the undergraduates and taxpayers (in my case, far more of the latter than the former) who paid for it.

I enjoy exploring ideas that are emotionally unpleasant, but which it's hard to construct a logical argument against. Some unpleasant ideas turn out to be correct!

It's fine to be grateful, but a grad school stipend is not charity. You are being paid to perform a service. If the undergraduates (or more commonly, their parents) and taxpayers did not think research and teaching were useful, they wouldn't pay you.