Author Topic: NASA FY 2018 Budget Request  (Read 66189 times)

Offline JDTractorGuy

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Re: NASA FY 2018 Budget Request
« Reply #160 on: 03/23/2018 06:31 pm »
Based on the Wikipedia record of NASA budgets (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budget_of_NASA) that makes it the highest budget since 1997.  Right?

Offline Proponent

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Re: NASA FY 2018 Budget Request
« Reply #161 on: 03/23/2018 08:08 pm »
Based on the Wikipedia record of NASA budgets (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budget_of_NASA) that makes it the highest budget since 1997.  Right?

Well, I think you'd need to look carefully at the inflation assumptions used to make the comparison: it can make a big difference.  As far as I can tell, that Wikipedia page does not specify the inflation index used in computing constant dollars.  I would guess that it's a broad indicator of some sort.  People often seem to use the CPI, which might be relevant if you're asking a question like "How much consumption are Americans foregoing now to pay for NASA as opposed to in 1997?"

More likely of interest to us, though, is a question like "How much will NASA be able to do with this budget as opposed to what it could do in 1997?"  For that purpose, the most relevant inflation index I know of is the NASA New-Start Inflation Index.  Though I've not been able to find any figures for that index in the last several years, it has usually run above the CPI.  If that's still the case, then the CPI will make today's budget appear larger than it really is.

Offline Proponent

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Re: NASA FY 2018 Budget Request
« Reply #162 on: 03/23/2018 08:14 pm »
By the way, the FY 2018 budget conforms to a scenario outlined in 2014:

Quote from: Proponent
... history suggests that under a Republican president [Republican senators and representatives] would lose their zeal for cutting the federal budget.  So I think there is reason to believe NASA would do a little better under a Republican president, though the prospect of reaching the funding levels promoted by Augustine and the NRC is very remote.

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