Can We Really Afford NASA?

When I was a junior in high school, I read an article in Newsweek magazine about the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Specifically, the piece spoke about the costs associated with every launch, as well as the tons of pollutants that were spewed into the atmosphere with each one. From that time on, I have considered NASA a stupendous waste of resources.

Sure, I know, we've learned tons of great things about space, other planets and solar systems, and the big bang theory. But, really, except for paving the way for telecommunications companies to cram space with pay-TV satellites, what has NASA done for the little guy? Okay, its behemoth operations have kept many engineers and physicists off of the unemployment line. And, of course, it allowed us to show the Russians that anything they could do, we could, too. But, really! That was fifty years ago. Can we please just get over Sputnik?

I wouldn't mind keeping NASA around if it didn't cost so much. Eighteen billion dollars a year is not chump change, particularly when Republicans are complaining about the extra money being doled out to help people devastated by the recession. The "back to the moon" initiative begun by former President Bush five years ago is estimated to cost well over $100 billion by 2020. The Obama administration has stated that even that amount won't do the trick.

Even NASA's contribution to entertainment is slipping. Remember those TV news reports we watched in school, showing launches and astronauts doing their space thing? Compare the thrill of those moments with the recent televised "plop" created when NASA wasted more of our tax dollars by deliberately crashing not one but two space craft into the moon's surface. The purpose of these crashes? They were looking for ice, of course. Despite the disappointment of many observers, NASA's scientists were "thrilled". Well, it's nice to know that the project wasn't a total waste.

It appears that the Obama administration might clip NASA's wings a bit. I certainly hope so. Some of those billions would do a lot more good going into health care reform. Sure, space exploration is cool. But you know what's cooler? Being able to take your kids to the doctor without worrying about how to pay for it. Now there's a giant step for mankind!

Paying for Health Care Reform

The current debate about health care reform seems to have moved from lies and scare tactics (finally) to concerns about cost. How, conservatives ask, are we going to pay for this project? This is a pertinent question, since the current legislation calls for $900 billion over a ten-year period. Well, I have a suggestion: Let's cut back on war.


Without getting into whether the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were warranted or perceived to be winnable, let's just look at the numbers involved. A Los Angeles Times article from March 2003 describes the contractor feeding frenzy regarding federal contracts to rebuild Iraq. Right off the bat, these were offered as "cost-plus-fee" meaning, it seems, that the sky was the limit on profit margins. Bidding was done in secret, with most bidders enjoying close ties to the Republicans and the Bush White House.


An editorial in our local paper in August of 2006 speaks to the skyrocketing bills associated with the Iraq war. The Special Inspector for Iraq Reconstruction had just released a report, which featured Rep. Henry Waxman commenting, "We've squandered $50 billion". Equipment and weapons disappeared and meals never materialized ($88 million down the tubes right there) as Bechtel, Halliburton and their subsidiaries enjoyed feeding at the public trough.


Stuart Bowen Jr.'s 2008 audit brought even more good news: $100 billion had been spent on reconstruction efforts in Iraq, many of them of dubious quality. Some were never started, many more were terminated early. The money, apparently, was still paid despite the lack of results.


The National Priorities Project presents the grand total so far: $915.1 billion spent on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, with a request for $130 billion more pending in the 2010 federal budget. Let's see...over $900 spent in eight years, so the same amount spent over ten should be a breeze!


I know that war will always be with us, unfortunately. If we had saved only half the cost of these two conflicts over the past eight years, however, we would not be worrying about how to pay for health care reform now. This year, I suggest that we fund health care and use whatever is left over for war. Sounds like a plan.