Considering NASA
By Monty Rainey (02/04/03)
As I sit down to type out this commentary, I know for many it will be controversial, especially given the recent loss of our astronauts and the space shuttle Columbia. But then, isn’t the whole purpose of commentary to examine controversial issues?
First of all, let me be perfectly clear that in no way is my intention to cast an ill light on any of the heroic men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice in the name of space exploration. Quite the contrary. These people are to be revered and admired for their heroism. It is the institution of which they were employed which I would like to address.
Is there any other government black hole of spending that is more unaccountable for their expenditures to the taxpaying public than NASA? If so, I can’t think of it. At $14.5 billion per year, I have to ask where that money is going. Nor is it my intention to debate the necessity of space exploration, for there are doubtless unknown benefits. But ask any proponent of NASA what is being done with all that taxpayer money and you will receive a lot of hemming and hawing followed by a bit of mumbling with strong inflection on words such as ‘medical research’ followed by more hemming and hawing and mumbling then an adamant proclamation of ‘satellites’ followed by even more gobbledygook. There is no doubt there are benefits to the NASA program. That is not the issue here.
The issue I have with NASA is the enormous spending taking place with very little accountability to the public. Anyone with a propensity for clear thinking knows the fastest way to waste money is to let the government be in charge of something. Has the time come to examine the possibility of NASA becoming a private sector corporation?
The truth is, when taxpayers are doing the funding, they are kept in the dark as to what is being done, however, when shareholders are doing the funding, revenue waste is greatly reduced. That is not to say such a program would not be eligible for government grants to do much of their research, but having a voting board to act as a system of checks and balances is tantamount to controlled spending.
Maybe I’m way of base here as I am no expert on NASA or space exploration, but I do know private sector ownership always operates cheaper and produces better results than any government ran project. I’m not saying let’s do away with space exploration, I’m saying let’s put it in the hands where it can be held accountable.
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