> This was the way to secure funding was what the PI in our lab told me when I inquired about the glaring discrepancy.
I'm not saying that what your PI told you was wrong, but I will say that it would've been useful to get some additional information about why your PI decided that was the right thing to do. It might have been useful at some particular time or in some particular situation.
> EDIT: I left academia in 2013, maybe things have changed.
That's an important piece of information, as when I read your original post, "even in 2013" made me think that you were still in academia.
I'm not saying that what your PI told you was wrong, but I will say that it would've been useful to get some additional information about why your PI decided that was the right thing to do. It might have been useful at some particular time or in some particular situation.
> EDIT: I left academia in 2013, maybe things have changed.
That's an important piece of information, as when I read your original post, "even in 2013" made me think that you were still in academia.