[WkndTriathlete]

Scientific discovery is not driven by economics 101.

Your dismissal of "excess supply" based on "margins" eliminates breakthrough contributions by profs that work for 20-30 years producing marginal research until one day they make the connection that transforms the world.

It's true that most professors never come up with breakthroughs. You cannot predict in advance which ones will. The best we can do is put many of them to work on research, connect them with their peers, and wait.

[s1artibartfast]

no thanks for me. I wont stop you from paying them out of your own pocket.

This is all besides the point because lecturers aren't even a research position.