Billions typically paid for by government subsidy, id est taxpayers. I'm not sure what the justification is for private IP rights when the capital is socialized.

Pharmaceuticals is about the worst example you could pick to make a point. It's notorious for socializing the cost and privatizing the profit (not to mention the ethics of price gouging life saving medication treatments).

Here's what Johnson&Johnson is doing right now with a TB drug whose development was paid largely with public funding:

The pill, called bedaquiline, was first approved in 2012 as the first new TB drug in over 40 years and revolutionized treatment for drug-resistant infections. But its relatively high cost limited access in many low- and middle-income countries hit hardest by an epidemic that still kills around 1.5 million people every year, most of them among the world’s poorest. The company initially charged $900 per course in low-income countries, according to a 2016 report, but gradually lowered it to $340 three years ago.

The secondary patent particularly irked some advocates because the drug’s development was largely underwritten by public funds, according to a 2020 analysis. That study found public sector funds contributed $455 million to $747 million to getting bedaquiline to market, compared to $90 million to $240 million from J&J.

People would take out hits on people to free an IP, if it is particularly valuable. So lets not bind it to an authors life at all.

Valid point (and one I initially did not consider). But I still stand by what I said, although I admit it can be more flexible if you're contractually bound to write a series. Maybe a few years' worth of extensions per entry or it starts after a series is over? Certainly not 70 years after an author's death. We know books depend on popularity to sell, and we've seen only a few (relatively) authors get rich on their books alone.

10 years is a long time - I would not stay in a job that doesn't pay enough for my needs for 10 years no matter how much I enjoy it. My problem is I admittedly am not well-versed in that specific industry (trusted resources are welcome as I've tried searching but I don't recognize many of the websites so idk how reliable they are). But an increase in salary (or advances) and/or royalties may be in order. I think everyone is entitled to that at this point.

Again, this is from my admittedly limited knowledge in that specific industry, so feel free to correct me. It's just that imho IP rights, as they are today, is kind of ludicrous.