Cut pork, but don't cut NASA even though I think they do waste a lot of money

Well, that's your opinion of things. Nasa really doesn't get much money, last figures I saw, I believe it would work out about 3 dollars to every person in the states if the money was reorganized.
Main problem is how the money's distributed, high publicity but low yeild projects.

11 Billion for space exploration? Don't make me laugh. That barely gets us into orbit half a dozen times a year.

NASA actually gets around $16 billion per year. And that is nothing when you look at the total US Federal budget. I think the US spends about that much every 2 weeks in Iraq alone. And lets not forget about all those bailouts they're doing. Now that is a waste of money in my opinion.

I'm a bit neutral on this, I understand that going back to the Moon, in this economic crisis could look like extravagant, but what is the price tag of this photo:



And I don't care, if this photo was taken by an American Space mission, paid by the American tax payer, or by a Russian, Japanese or Chinese Space probe, the fact remains, this photo is Priceless (it belong to Mankind as a whole).

Photos like this, has changed our relationship with the fragile Earth, we clearly see a small blue marble in the emptiness of space.

So to some extent, this Space program (American, Russian, Chinese or otherwise) is still a small price to pay, if it help us, being better humans.

Half of the American people has proven in this past election they don't give a damn if the rest of the world, especially third world and developing nations, kick our tails in advanced studies and technologies.

All they want is another piece of crack-rock to smoke!

Damed crack-head sons-of-bitches!

And the other half is nothing but a bunch of damned drunks!


[edit on 15/12/08 by Intelearthling]

I'm an Obama supporter, but I agree that NASA and it's minuscule budget are an idiotic place to be doing our belt-tightening.

Cut the military and restore it to it's original mission of protecting the United States (as opposed to maintaining a global Empire) and we'll be able to save enough money to give NASA & public education big boosts while still cutting spending overall - our military budget (as much as I love all the cool hardware) is simply absurd.

11 or 16 or whatever billion dollars a year!!! And you think it's waste of money??? Are you kidding me???
U.S. spends 3 billion in Iraq every week, so that's about 1 month of war!!!!! And not to mention around 1000 billion (700 billion officially) of DoD budget.

Just one more thing. Apollo program costed 25 (somewhat around that) billion dollars, that is a little more than 200 billion of today's dollars. So they definitely didn't spend more than 700 billion (I think more around 400-500 billion) for the whole space program from getting into the orbit to landing on the Moon.
Now think that you don't have the armed forces (which aren't necessary at all) for let's say 10 years..... With that money we'd be landing on Saturn's Moons and wouldn't talk about Moon and Mars anymore.......

Well nothing is the waste of money, until 1$ per year goes to armed forces...

Greets