Launch costs?

The fact that "launch costs aren't the
problem" . . . aren't they, though? I mean, wouldn't cheaper access
increase the "incentives for private capital investment" and reduce
the reliance on "governement funding mechanism"? I don't understand
the contention of many members on this list that launch costs aren't
the problem. I think at least among space advocates in general there's agreement that launch costs are the problem. I think there's considerable confusion about the way out of the present situation. Someseem to feel that there's some technological fix which will result in a new space transportation system which is cheaper. Cheaper launch will inevitably lead to doing more in space. But more recently, quite the reversal of this picture has been advocated by some. Some say it's not that we aren't doing more because launch costs are so high, it's that launch costs are so high because we aren't doing more. One writer said that even old-fashioned ELVs would be economical to launch if we launched at the rate of one a day. It almost makes me think that maybe the government should subsidize the creation of a prototype SPS irregardless of current launch costs and whether or not it couldcurrently compete with a fossil fuel plant, if only to get us to the traffic model we need to get us to the launch costs we all want. When all is done, perhaps other profitable activities would then be possible.