... Consider someone saying (as frequently happens): "my country should finance mathematics because it will give it a technological/economic/military edge in the international competition". I find this a problematic answer, as mathematicians from other countries cannot logically agree with that (if they do, it means they actually agree on something different).

@MichaelSieve: I think your underestimate how this issue (not the question itself) is divisive. Some mathematician I know think mathematics should not be funded at all: only people with a personal fortune, and thus truly disinterested, should do mathematics. Other thinks that math should be funded, but certainly not by private contributors, only by the state, while some others think exactly the contrary ("keep the government out of my maths"). Even among people who agrees that math should be founded, the most natural justifications may be more controversial that they seem at first glance...

The question seems to have an healthy live on politics.se, and I think that the best we could wish for it. It was really too "subjective and argumentative" for MO (which does not mean it was not interesting).

@AlexBecker: in a democracy, everyone is supposed to study politics.

This is really a great answer.

François, just out of curiosity (and don't answer if it may cause any problem): what kind of voting irregularities are there on this site? Is that people creating many accounts to vote several times?

@joro: it is not because something is allowed that it is necessarily not shameful.

"if lots of random visitors like the question, that means nothing", says Henry. Or perhaps that means that the question is probably not a research-level question :-)

Good idea. This may be simpler to "sell" to the larger stack exchange community.

are caused in substantial part by users not having the mathoverflow culture, but brought here by the top questions list on stack exchange having the right to vote here because of the association bonus. On this it seems that we could do something easily.

On the heart of the matter, both bad questions and bad votes are a problem. But there is not much we can do about bad questions, in addition of what we already do (trying to prevent them by the FAQ, then chasing and closing them). On the other hands, bad votes, it seems