Today’s Washington Post contained an interesting article predicting that President Bush plans to significantly increase the U.S. committment to space exploration. Next week Bush is expected to call for a manned settlement on the moon, using that as a stepping stone for a manned mission to Mars.
In the meantime, the Congressional Budget Office announced today that last quarter’s budget deficit was $126 billion. If that rate continues, the entire deficit for fiscal year 2004 will be about $500 billion. A half trillion dollars in one year.
I’m all in favor of space exploration. Hell, I went to Space Camp when I was 11. (Shhh, don’t tell anyone!) I think a permanent colony on the moon would be damn cool. But does Bush have any sense of priority here? Bush reminds me of the college student that ends up with $20,000 in credit card debt… or the lottery winner that blows $18 million in 8 years.
And where are all the “conservatives” who were up in arms about supposedly reckless budgeting under Clinton? The deficit started at $255 billion — half the 2004 deficit — during Clinton’s first year in office, and declined every year after that. If Republican voters were so outraged at the size of that deficit, shouldn’t they be even more outraged now?
1 comment so far ↓
I guess my feeling is that if you’re going to have a space program, you might as well go at it at full speed. No reason to do it half-assed
Leave a Comment