For or Against . . .

I suppose the point is the cost of 'shipping" in relation to its use /
value.
Is a roll of TP worth the hundred or so dollars that shipping would cost or
would you find some other 'self sufficient" way of doing the same job?
Perhaps adapt a more aboriginal deficating position that naturally
eliminates the need for TP? As silly and simple as that sounds, it reflect
adjustment in lifestyles to deal with new realities...ways of becoming self
sufficient where one can. A/C environment and minimum streneous labor cuts
down on perspiration meaning less body bacteria growth and less smell (with
less deoderant, showers (water-soap-shampoo) and less changes of clothing
and bed-linen. Perhaps a daily UV "light-bath" to kill bacteria with
appropriate goggles like in "Andromeda Strain" movie.

This would free up shipping modules for items that are indispensible and
can't be done without or ultra luxury items, like spices in days of old.

By having large numbers of people involved you get some efficiencies in
volume, and by 'mortgaging" their lifes work, or even multi generations life
work you can have the monies NOW to create the living space. thinking of
250,000 people you get a pretty LARGE bundle of money.

Assuming a skilled labor position does 10 x what it costs in production. A
skilled labor can earn $1million easy enough over a lifestime of work
perhaps even $2 million. Multiply that by 10 and that gets you $20 million
worth of production, multiply by 250,000 and you get $5-trillion big ones.
Yes a long term project to be sure, but not without precident.

Think of Japanese mortgages for home in Tokyo. The amortizatin term can be
as long as 50 years or more because of the large upfront cost of homes
there. Essentially two generation mortgages.Even as long as 100 years are
granted. In essence people are paying rent since they could never
individually pay off the note, but the sense of ownership and stability and
community exists just the same. This conscept could be applied for a space
station community.

In the 1700 and 1800 a good slave could go for as much as $10k.... TEN
THOUSAND dollars ! I hate to think what that would be worth in today's
dollars. This money was paid because of the work/ utility of the production
over decades (and even through to the next generations following if the
"stock" was good) The offspring was free and its production could be counted
against initial investment.

Something to think about.

$64 question (or $5 trillion question) is how do you collect from colonist
once they give you the finger from the high ground and decide to break away,
much like the colonist in every other venture has, from India to America. In
the colonies, factories were not sophisticated enough to create finished
goods, (and laws where in place forbidding the transfer of the information
on making factories to the colonies). This meant the colonies always had to
send back raw goods to recieve the necessary items for living. Of course
once the colonies felt the trade was not equitable, they looked for better
trade partners or looked to manufacture on their own, becoming self
sufficent.

just a little thought...

so essentially if you can find 250,000 space colonist, get them to mortgage
their lifes production upfront for setting up a space community, you should
have enough money to do it.

Imagine that the first 2-years or so of a colonist labor/skill goes as
volunteer work or sweat equity to creating the space station /
community...this reducing the cost of the station to the cost of raw
materials and NO labor costs (or taxes :-) . That would stretch by 5-fold
the available dollars easily.

Presently a standard home is roughly 20 % materials and the rest labor /
professional costs ( example: real estate commision 7 % , bankers get 5%,
surveyor, title agent, inspector, lawyer get 5%.... there is 17% of the
house already and thats just professional services...not the first nail in a
board ! )

So figuring $5 trillion with a multiplier of "5" from the stretched money
thats $25-trillion. Pretty hefty bankroll. Add a few corporate sponsorships
to purchase community production you may be able to add another $50 billion.
(heck XM radio service has got about a billion in so far with only 60k
subscribers or so...)

just some number thoughts to mess with the mind....

(of course we haven't mentioned the ultimate money-maker, the protection
racket from the high ground...;-) pay tribute to Spacers or an astroid may
accidently "fall" to the Earth, hehe. Coomunication satellites start having
accidents. No more MTV! consider it an "insurance" premium.

Any other creative ideas?

The thing is to find 250,000 skilled people willing to become permanent
Spacers.

Any takers?