Letter to Editor
White Salmon Enterprise
July 2004
An editorial in the January 22 issue of the Enterprise made the argument that, as grand as a Moon base and Mars visit would be, we simply cannot afford this kind of big-ticket credit card spending. I admit I am no economist, and that as a former NASA employee I am biased in my opinion, but I think there is a big difference between spending, versus investment. America for decades has reaped the huge benefits, both extrinsic and intrinsic, of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo space programs. It is time for another similar major investment.
The editorial claims that “the credit card is the American taxpayer.” Don’t forget that American corporations, the primary recipients of the majority of this projected investment, are key participants in the U.S. tax base. As American business grows as the result of the major technological breakthroughs sure to come through such an investment, the “bill” will be repaid with interest. Few, if any, other Congressional discretionary budget items can claim such investment dividends as the space program.
Imagine what our economy would have been like for the last 35 years if another country, not the U.S., had been the only nation to have set foot on the Moon.
Now imagine what it would be like if China has a Moon base, and we do not. Are we really ready to relinquish our technological and economic prowess?
Nancy Sliwa
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