Stuff you just can't make up

-> Be the US arms industry
-> Spend millions on campaigns and lobbying during the Obama years about how the Democrats will very definitely take away all the guns
-> Make millions off of gullible idiots who actually believe that the Democrats will very definitely take away all the guns
-> Go bankrupt when those gullible idiots elect someone who promises not to take away all the guns

I supposr I should have said why now?

Eventually private concerns will build joint owned, then privately owned space stations.

But at the moment, it's still a money pit. A money pit that needs to happen if we ever want a space based industry and/or culture.
And money pits mean government funding.
Handing any part of it over will just mean added cost and/or reduced quality, and that only makes sense if you're taking kickbacks or similar.

biochem wrote:

gcomeau wrote:

It's up to 38.

Nine of them are committee chairmen.

It is mostly not because of "not following Trump's line". They see a slaughter coming and are getting out of the way.

https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/10/politics ... index.html

You (and CNN's democratic commentators) are overstating. Some are retiring for that reason but at least 2/3 of them are retiring for the usual reasons: the committee chairs are term limited ( they have to get another committee or take a reduction in rank on their current committee), some are just plain old (one is 87), and some of the younger ones are running for governor/senator. A bunch of Democrats are retiring too: shifting districts, age, running for senator/ governor etc. Given the geriatric nature of congress these days we may start to see more and more age related retirements.

Didn't look at the graph on the article did you?

This is way out of normal. And it's pretty clear why. But keep rationalizing it away.... the midterms will be here soon enough. And if you're been paying any level of attention to the outcomes of special elections through the last year *at all* you will see what is coming.


The actual "silent majority"... not the one conservatives fantasize and spin fairy tales about... just woke up. And they're not happy.

Trump's "$1.5 Trillion" infrastructure plan. Summarized version.

* Actually budget about 200 billion for infrastructure.
* Simultaneously make large cuts to departments of transportation and energy, the guys who will actually have to implement an infrastructure plan.
* Say... "Ummm.... hey states and other people, you guys spend like 1.5 Trillion on Infrastructure cause we're not gonna, 'kay? We're sure you have tons of spare cash just laying around in your budgets."


PLAN COMPLETE!

gcomeau wrote:Trump's "$1.5 Trillion" infrastructure plan. Summarized version.

* Actually budget about 200 billion for infrastructure.
* Simultaneously make large cuts to departments of transportation and energy, the guys who will actually have to implement an infrastructure plan.
* Say... "Ummm.... hey states and other people, you guys spend like 1.5 Trillion on Infrastructure cause we're not gonna, 'kay? We're sure you have tons of spare cash just laying around in your budgets."


PLAN COMPLETE!

AND toss a bone to the Tea Party Libertarians who have wanted to privatize the roads and highways for at least 30 years now.

Overlook the fact that privatization ends up being more expensive, and lots of the bridges are on federal highways.

Annachie wrote:Why the fuck would you privatise US space station operations?

That might not be the best place to start, but the government needs to get out of the space business, except for military satellites.

Private space programs are funded by investments made voluntarily by people hoping to make a profit. Government space programs are paid for with money taken from us by force.

In the beginning, the government was the only game in town. Today, that has changed. The pump has been primed, now it's time to let it run on its own. Privately-owned and operated satellites have worked out well, haven't they?

Independent, private space programs might finally give us a better way to reach orbit than single-use staged rockets. Where would aviation be if we had to build a new airplane for every flight?

Imaginos1892 wrote:

Annachie wrote:Why the fuck would you privatise US space station operations?

That might not be the best place to start, but the government needs to get out of the space business, except for military satellites.

Private space programs are funded by investments made voluntarily by people hoping to make a profit. Government space programs are paid for with money taken from us by force.

In the beginning, the government was the only game in town. Today, that has changed. The pump has been primed, now it's time to let it run on its own. Privately-owned and operated satellites have worked out well, haven't they?

Independent, private space programs might finally give us a better way to reach orbit than single-use staged rockets. Where would aviation be if we had to build a new airplane for every flight?

Which is fine and good.... right up until those space programs start reaching the point where people start talking about setting up habitation off planet. Like, on Mars say.

Then things may get tricky if corporate owned enclaves start springing up all over outside the jurisdiction of any planetary government.


No, the government should not "get out of" the space business.

(And I'm just going to ignore the standard juvenile "taxes are stolen from us by force... waaaah...." Libertarian/Conservative whining.)

gcomeau wrote:(And I'm just going to ignore the standard juvenile "taxes are stolen from us by force... waaaah...." Libertarian/Conservative whining.)

Did you vote for any of the tax increases that have been imposed on us over the last 30 years? I didn't. The politicians raise taxes, then exempt themselves from paying them.

Imaginos1892 wrote:

gcomeau wrote:(And I'm just going to ignore the standard juvenile "taxes are stolen from us by force... waaaah...." Libertarian/Conservative whining.)

Did you vote for any of the tax increases that have been imposed on us over the last 30 years? I didn't. The politicians raise taxes, then exempt themselves from paying them.

Tax increases over the last 30 years?

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... o_2013.png

Oh yeah, those tax rates have been skyrocketing the last 3 decades. Whine about it some more. Please.

Imaginos1892 wrote:

gcomeau wrote:(And I'm just going to ignore the standard juvenile "taxes are stolen from us by force... waaaah...." Libertarian/Conservative whining.)

Did you vote for any of the tax increases that have been imposed on us over the last 30 years? I didn't. The politicians raise taxes, then exempt themselves from paying them.

No, but I trust big corporations about as much as you trust the government. Deregulating just stacks profit margin on top of the already existing costs.