AlexBlackwell,<br /><br />Jeffery Bell has a knack for bringing out the side of me that feels that the United States should close NASA down entirely, scrap all launch vehicles, and give up any hope of having advanced technology. He makes many valid points concerning the glaring inconsistancies in NASA plans for the future, which, unfortunately, almost entirely stem from the dismal level of funding being given to the only activity which offers any hope of the United States maintaining an affluent society.<br /><br />People keep insisting that we cannot afford to spend more money on space exploration, yet we will willingly spend 400 billion dollars a year on maintaining the ability to destroy people and property in large quantities. Defense contracts are the only income some of the nation's high tech companies get, and the list of those companies seems to get smaller every year.<br /><br />Without a massive increase in funding, NASA is not going to be able to keep up even the pretense that the United States is a space faring nation. High tech jobs in the U. S. are going to disappear, and the economy will gradually shrink, as more and more Americans slide into poverty. Wal-Mart is encouraging its employees to get state assistance for medical care! When you have a full time job and still qualify for food stamps, you know that you are a member of the 'working poor'. That sector of the population is rapidly growing, as the bottom of the middle class slides further and further in income and benefits.<br /><br />Our last election had lots of rhetoric about 'job creation', but how does one go about creating jobs when there is little investment in research and development, new technology, or exploration? Service sector jobs depend upon there being a segment of the population which can afford the services. When everyone is working performing services for each other, no new wealth is being created, which means that we are having to give up some of our capital every time we purc <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> The secret to peace of mind is a short attention span. </div>