In concrete, practical terms, how do you envision "most of EA" being funded by governments? At least in the US context, this is very hard for me to imagine, as it runs counter to a lot of my understanding of the political economy of taxation and government spending. 

The MWP project was impressive and thought-provoking. But given how important this topic is and how load-bearing a single report has become for essential cause prio discussions, it seems crucial to get a second perspective that's just as careful and detailed!

For me this would be a way lower cost, yes. But it's very contingent on what the workshops are like. Just listening to someone speak and a Q&A? I'd do it for like $10. But if it's speed meetings or anything with significant face to face interaction I'd need to be paid more.

One could at least try to estimate their personal cost of wearing a mask by considering the following: 

Suppose my chance of getting sick at EAG was 0%. How much would someone have to pay me to wear a mask? 

If we're talking about the entire conference, I think I'd need to be paid at least a few hundred dollars.