Fixing Our Economy - A Few Suggestions

By now I think even the most skeptical and conservative would have to agree that we are in, at the least, a recession here in the U.S. Personally I’m inclined to agree with those that feel this started late last year as that is when my computer consulting business saw the bottom drop out of it.

Because this is an election year there has been much mud and smoke thrown about as both major political parties describe how wonderful their plan is and how bad the other party’s plan would make things. I’m not here to say which side is best, rather I want to point out some [possible] long-term solutions that are not being discussed:

Energy

Currently we import and consume too much oil. Oil is not a sustainable resource and, while we can’t agree on when it will run out, we will eventually run out of it. There are other ways to produce energy. We need to fund, at a national level, research on alternatives. There are a number of, I feel, obvious benefits from this, including:

• We reduce the amount of money flowing from this country and spend it here at home instead.
• Money spent on research should spur an increase in engineering and other related fields. This country desperately needs more high-wage jobs as opposed to our current choices of “paper or plastic?” and “you want fries with that?” opportunities.
• Reduction in air, water, and land pollution.

Check out official energy statistics from the U.S. Government showing how much we import and from which countries.
Read what the Apollo Alliance has to say on clean energy and good jobs.
I have more ideas posted on my alternative forms of energy blog post.

Science

Nations prosper that invest in science and engineering. For many years the U.S. was a leader in new technologies and we prospered because of it. Now, unfortunately, few students are interested in math and science because there are not enough new jobs being created.

I know that a lot of people feel that ‘pure science’ research is just money being thrown away. However, research spurs new ideas and new products. New products lead to new jobs. Have you seen the unemployment numbers lately? This country has been on a net job loss for too long. When people have a job they can spend money on things they need. Spending leads to investment with leads to even more jobs and a way out of this recession.

Check out what the HPC Wire has to say about current science funding.
See a comparison of U.S. to China science funding.

The future of this country

The U.S. is still a superpower, but for how much longer? China is in the process of outpacing us in both scientific funding and space exploration.

So what you say? Why waste money on science and space? Look at some of the spin-off products from our space program are now part of our daily life:

• NASA technology gave us a "cool" laser, which provides thousands of patients with an alternative to heart bypass surgery.
• Hubble Space Telescope technology has made it possible to do certain breast biopsies with a needle instead of a scalpel.
• The foam insulation that covers the shuttle's external tank, developed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and Lockheed-Martin, is used to make molds for fitting artificial limbs.
• Medical personnel can monitor fetal activity inside the womb using a small pill-shaped transmitter developed at NASA's Ames Research Center.
• The same material used for lightweight, durable spacesuits is used as permanent covering for shopping centers and sports stadiums. NASA technology also is used to pad football helmets and baseball and soccer chest protectors and shin guards.
• NASA-driven technology also makes possible satellite TV transmission and telephone signals that are beamed around the world.
• It has led to microcapsules that help clean up oil spills and to satellite remote sensing technology that locates and maps forest fires.

There's a lot more. Read the full list at the NASA Solutions site.
Read about recent developments in China’s space program.
Take a look at China’s overall space program and plans.
Read about some of the medical benefits that have come from space exploration.
Space exploration is important, read more here.
Mining resources from space, read more here.
Take a look at planet Earth as seen from space.

After World War II this country invested in both science and space. Our economy boomed. People from all over the world flocked to this nation because of the availability of high-paying jobs and the many opportunities for all to prosper. If we are going to get out of our current mess we need to look at what worked for us before. We can’t afford to wait.

Space Exploration is Important

I’m mad, not as in crazy but rather angry, upset, and quite disappointed. An elderly gentleman that I respect greatly for his wisdom and knowledge said that he felt all the money that the government spent on the space program was an absolute waste. He feels that “all that money could have been put to better use solving problems here in our country”.

This is not the first time I’ve heard someone say this. I know that many people feel this way. However, have any of them actually taken the time to look in to the issue? How much money does NASA get every year? What is that money used for? How much money does the Federal Government put to other programs? How much money have we spent on our latest “war”?

OK, let’s tackle these questions:

Has anybody really checked out the facts? In my opinion, no. If they had, they would see how little goes to NASA, how much the space program benefits EVERYONE, how much useful technology we’ve gotten as a spin-off, and how much more money the Federal Government manages to waste (ever heard of ‘pork-barrel’ spending?) in other areas.

How much money does NASA get every year? Not much, especially compared with the overall budget. Wikipedia has a very interesting article on this. NASA has received an average of $12.681 billion dollars (adjusted for inflation) per year over its forty-nine year history. That’s barely a drop in the budgetary bucket. For comparison, lets look at what the Federal budget spent on other things in 2007:

• $586.1 billion for Social Security
• $548.8 billion for Defense (not including the “war”)
• $394.5 billion for Medicare
• $367 billion for Unemployment and Welfare
• $76.9 billion for Veterans’ benefits
• $33.1 billion for natural resources and the environment
• $26.8 billion for community and regional development

Check out this other Wikipedia article for a full breakdown plus links for additional information. And here’s one fact for you: Americans spent over 19 times as much at restaurants in 1997 as the federal government spent on NASA that year.

What does NASA spend ‘all that money’ on? Well, among other things, NASA has procurements, grants, and awards that go to businesses, educational institutions, and non-profit organizations throughout all 50 United States. Millions of dollars are spread throughout the country. Check out this map showing the disbursements. As for all their space exploration programs, research centers, aeronautical programs, etc., you should check out this site by NASA.

I’ve already addressed the issue of how much money the Federal Government puts to other programs, so let’s look at our “war” spending. Much of the money for the war does not come out of the annual Federal budget, instead it is done as ‘Supplemental Funding’. For example, in FY 2006 $153 billion in Supplemental Funding was added to the base budget of which the War on Terror received $120 billion and a massive $33 billion went to events such as Hurricane Katrina. My source for this information is here. Total estimates for our “War on Terror” go as high as $2.4 trillion. TRILLION. Check out this CNN Money article and be sure to follow their link in the middle of the article.

Right now this lovely little planet is our only home. The environment is not in the best shape right now and many feel the future is only going to deteriorate. Personally, I’d like to see humanity expand beyond Earth. Our future, if we have one, is in space. Check out these folks.

Scotty, where are you when I need you?