Re: Space funding (was Re: Hillary needs to quit)

"Dano" <janeanddano@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message 
news:hu-dnaOoJdmUg2HanZ2dnUVZ_tajnZ2d@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> John Schilling wrote:
>> On Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:13:32 -0500, pv+usenet@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
 (PV) wrote:
>>
>>> John Schilling <schillin@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> writes:
>>>>> And you'd be right. Obama discussed delaying the Constellation
>>>>> Project for five years, not shutting down NASA. *
>>>>
>>>> What did he say NASA was going to be doing during those five years
>>>> instead of Constellation?
>>
>>> (groups trimmed, subject refocused)
>>
> <more trimming...back to the over-riding issue>
>
> "When more than 1 million students a year drop out of high school, it's 
> more than a problem, it's a catastrophe." - Colin Powell, founding 
> chairman of America's Promise Alliance, which issued a report last
Tuesday 
> that says 17 of the 50 largest cities have high school graduation rates 
> below 50 percent. (from the Boston Globe, April 5th - Quotes of Note)
>
> We can't afford to educate the next generation of NASA employees.  We 
> better figure out how to do that first.  It's about spending priorities.
That's the kind of reasoning that was employed in the early 70s to gut the

space program. I well remember the claims that NASA had spent $25 billion 
and all the taxpayer got was "a bunch of moon rocks". That sort of remark,

virtually unchallenged by NASA and those who could see the Big Picture, 
enabled politicians to gut the space program. And for what? Did they throw

that money into better schools? What great things did that money
accomplish 
once it wasn't being "wasted" on the space program?

It's not a simple question of policy-makers choosing between schools and 
space.Tax money could do _both_ things: improve schools _and_ fund NASA.

Something as complex as a federal budget ALWAYS does many, many things.
How 
many trillions of dollars are already spent on education? How much money 
does the government spend on space? How much money does the government
spend 
on other things and what _are_ those other things? Once you've answered 
those questions, maybe you can tell me how the relative pittance spent on 
space is a waste of money given the much greater sums of money spent on 
other things, much of which shows weaker results than the space program.

After all, if we can spend umpteen trillion dollars on education and 
students are still dropping out in droves, doesn't that tell you that 
education dollars are not being spent well? And if that's the case, maybe
we 
should focus on spending that money more effectively, rather than
diverting 
space program money to education and simply having even more money spent 
badly?

--
Rhino