Sure, someone can say "well, Washington is corrupt"...
This is something that is incredibly reasonable. Why not empower the private sector in the space industry? The innovation of the American people is one of our biggest, if not the biggest, strength we as America have. The private sector is much more agile and innovative. It is a clear advantage to the United States to engage the private sector in the expanding space industry.
Quote from: Tea Party Space Czar on 12/20/2017 09:28 pmThis is something that is incredibly reasonable. Why not empower the private sector in the space industry? The innovation of the American people is one of our biggest, if not the biggest, strength we as America have. The private sector is much more agile and innovative. It is a clear advantage to the United States to engage the private sector in the expanding space industry.Emphasis mine.Great idea Andrew. But as long as US Congress holds the purse strings, and those purse strings provide highly-paid jobs to ~100,000 US citizens, it is unlikely that the private sector will be empowered to the level required.Because when such empowerment actually would occur some 80% of those ~100,000 US citizens will lose their jobs.It really is all about bringing home the bacon and US Congress folks making damn sure they can stay put in their well-padded chairs on Capitol Hill.
I am sorry, but the world can change with Congress, and it does every 2 years, and if you are a US citizen and you aren't happy, then IMHO, you have no one to blame but yourself.
And there are LOTS of ways to get your voice to congress, and a lot of Space citizen lobbying activities out there.
Yes, there are entrenched interests. But you can also over come them. There are many examples of entrenched interests being forced to change because you had people campaigning for it.
Quote from: Political Hack Wannabe on 12/21/2017 02:38 pmAnd there are LOTS of ways to get your voice to congress, and a lot of Space citizen lobbying activities out there.However, most people vote either their pocketbook or their conscience, and things related to space usually don't fall into either category outside of just a few congressional districts. So even if everyone who should vote voted, I don't think that space-related topics would be a factor in the voting outcomes.
Quote from: Coastal Ron on 12/21/2017 03:52 pmQuote from: Political Hack Wannabe on 12/21/2017 02:38 pmAnd there are LOTS of ways to get your voice to congress, and a lot of Space citizen lobbying activities out there.However, most people vote either their pocketbook or their conscience, and things related to space usually don't fall into either category outside of just a few congressional districts. So even if everyone who should vote voted, I don't think that space-related topics would be a factor in the voting outcomes.But we aren't talking about just voting. Don't get me wrong - voting is a PART of being a good space activist. But there are other things you can and SHOULD do. Question for everyone in this thread - Have you ever called your member of congress (or another member of congress) to talk about space with them? Have you ever participated in a district blitz, or even better a DC blitz?
Quote from: Political Hack Wannabe on 12/21/2017 07:47 pmQuote from: Coastal Ron on 12/21/2017 03:52 pmQuote from: Political Hack Wannabe on 12/21/2017 02:38 pmAnd there are LOTS of ways to get your voice to congress, and a lot of Space citizen lobbying activities out there.However, most people vote either their pocketbook or their conscience, and things related to space usually don't fall into either category outside of just a few congressional districts. So even if everyone who should vote voted, I don't think that space-related topics would be a factor in the voting outcomes.But we aren't talking about just voting. Don't get me wrong - voting is a PART of being a good space activist. But there are other things you can and SHOULD do. Question for everyone in this thread - Have you ever called your member of congress (or another member of congress) to talk about space with them? Have you ever participated in a district blitz, or even better a DC blitz? Elon and SpaceX's "actual accomplishments" have done more to raise interest and profile outside of so called "space states"(especially among Millennials that I have taught) than any other activist methodology you propose IMHO... Ask our friend Andrew about his experience up on the Hill and if any quantifiable results (this is not intended to be snark but an actual query)...