Re: starship-design: Grumpy Old Men: The Future Ain't What It Used To Be (Sequel to come)

[Zenon Kulpa <zkulpa@ippt.gov.pl>]

> From owner-starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu Mon Sep 22 03:40:18 2003
> From: KellySt@aol.com
> 
> In a message dated 9/19/03 5:53:01 AM, zkulpa@ippt.gov.pl writes:
> 
[...]
> >> 
> >Can't be more in agreement. Add also the way of thinking/acting I call
> >the "Black single mothers" syndrome. Space (science, whatever) is an
> >extravagance, they say, first we must take care of the poor Black 
> >single mothers (or unemployed coal miners, poor drug addicts, whatever).
> >So they cajole or force taxpayers to fund a giant care system for them.
> >
> >And they succeed spectacularly - the number of Black single mothers 
> >is dynamically and steadily growing. And so is, of course, the number
> >(and pay) of bureaucrats managing the system...
> 
> An economist would say that was obvious. Pay money for something 
> and you get more of it. If unwed motherhood becomes a automtic 
> qualkification to get a long term welfare support -- 
> you get more girls deciding to go that route.
> 
Exactly. But who listens to economists in the Congress nowadays?

[...]

> >> These arn't issues that space will solve, and NASA has done 
> >> its best to prove space is impossibly inacccessable for any use.  
> >> Private groups proving the later is wrong might surprize folks 
> >> enough to rethink their fatalism -- but its not real likely.
> >> 
> >But what other hope remains?
> 
> Comercial of some scale is the only possible hope.  
> no gov program will ever help.  Thats not what govs do.
> 
Exactly. So please do not write "it's not really likely",
as it only spreads and strenghtens the fatalism...

-- Zenon Kulpa