What's ron paul's position on NASA?

[golfboy]

anyone know?

[Thanehand]

Thinks of it as important, particularly because of national security, if I'm not mistaken.

[Lovecraftian4Paul]

He ultimately encourages free enterprise taking a lead in innovations for space exploration. Seems reasonable to me, since NASA lost much of its cutting-edge ability after the Apollo program. The shuttles and low orbit space stations have appeared near-useless to me. We should've been learning how to survive on the Moon and aiming for Mars the past 40 years, not screwing around with flimsy tile spacecraft and completely ignoring manned missions to other worlds.

[qh4dotcom]

My guess is that Ron Paul believes it shouldn't be funded by taxpayer dollars. I would be surprised if that wasn't the case knowing how much Ron Paul wants to decrease government spending

[Staupostek]

It seems like the NASA of the last 35 years or so has become like most other government bureaucracies. They are almost afraid to accomplish anything or solve too many problems or they might not be needed in the future. Do just enough to keep the funding going and keep others from passing you. If NASA had advanced as far in the last 35 years as technology in general, we would probably be half way to the closest star by now. So I say do whatever possible to encourage private industry to take it and run with it.

[thoughtbombing]

My guess is that Ron Paul believes it shouldn't be funded by taxpayer dollars. I would be surprised if that wasn't the case knowing how much Ron Paul wants to decrease government spending

truth.

[homah]

My guess is that Ron Paul believes it shouldn't be funded by taxpayer dollars. I would be surprised if that wasn't the case knowing how much Ron Paul wants to decrease government spending

He said exactly this, but I believe he said it would be near the bottom of his priority list since they actually accomplish some good things and don't bleed the taxpayers dry like some other government programs.

[thoughtbombing]

He said exactly this, but I believe he said it would be near the bottom of his priority list since they actually accomplish some good things and don't bleed the taxpayers dry like some other government programs.

NASA basically equates to corporate tax payer funded subsidies for Boeing, etc...

[AJ Antimony]

He said exactly this, but I believe he said it would be near the bottom of his priority list since they actually accomplish some good things and don't bleed the taxpayers dry like some other government programs.

He's right. Of all the programs the government spends on, the space program is arguably the most useful. This is simply because of the amazing technology that comes out of the space program. However, like anything that seeks growth and expansion, it needs competition. The only way we landed men on the moon was because we were competing with the Soviet Union. The only way we win wars is due to our engineers out-competing rival engineers.

The space program will likely pick up in the near future with new competition coming from China, so keep an eye out.

[ButchHowdy]

I live here in Brevard County, FL about 10 miles from the launch pads and many of the people I spoke with during my canvassing asked me about this.

Knowing Ron Paul's stances, I told them that Ron Paul was the type that would reduce the amount of government control and open the door to the private sector.

If so, this would make lots of sense because we aren't the only game in town for launching spacecraft anymore.

[malibuu]

My guess is that Ron Paul believes it shouldn't be funded by taxpayer dollars. I would be surprised if that wasn't the case knowing how much Ron Paul wants to decrease government spending

I'd heard that there was something like this -

and the comments on this thread about it being the lowest of priorities in the full scope of things sounds right too.

As a strict constitutionalist there may be some "general national defense" function for a space program -

and I do NOT think it can be considered a "foreign interventionist" foreign policy either.

[Drknows]

http://www.isitthefuture.com/DNN/Portals/0/images/Virgin_Galactic.jpg

Everyone knows universities and high-tech companies do all the real work like astrobiology, astronomy, astrophysics, robotics, and supercomputing, NASA is just a over bloated bureaucracy with lots of money. Sure they had a purpose and did amazing things getting space exploration off the ground. But now it is what it is.

[zmyrick19]

Sometimes I get really frustrated at the government. I truely see 99% of it as a HUGE middle-man that needs to be cut out.

Am I wrong to think that EVERYTHING can be done better by the free market?

[Gadsden Flag]

The space program was an amazing example of how powerful public funding can be toward achieving a goal.

As a math major, I do have a certain reverence for NASA and the fact that we landed on the moon just 66 years after the first airplane was invented.


But I do agree that ultimately it is too expensive to keep on the payroll, and that private enterprise is a better way to go. At least it is now.

I can't help but feel it was at least a little different back in the cold war.