Can't all space nerds get along?

--- In spacesettlers, joe wrote:

> Yes, I think they do, but there's much disagreement about how to
> accomplish that. Some think NASA can do it; others put more faith in
> the commercial sector; still others think we need some radical new
> approach, like a launch gun or Polywell fusion drive [1] or some such.

So have NASA do all they can, and the private sector can do it too.
For that matter, let NASA spend $5 billion a year on doing it as
quickly as possible with the tech available now, and another $5
billion a year researching the more far-out stuff.

Or have NASA offer $5 billion dollars to whichever private company can
do it best in, say, the next five years. NASA doesn't give them a
cent to do the R&D with, they just give it away to whoever does best.
Then they only have to spend that $5 billion once. They can then
spend the same on fusion drives, space elevators, ELM guns, and so
forth, only every year.