Funding cut for NASA

--- In ssi_list@... Mitchell James

> Not unexpected. It has always been a question in my mind of how
> much Congress is willing to spend on NASA even if they were all
> die-hard space advocates. There is only so much of the pie and
> when the Chief Executive is cutting taxes and spending billions on
> military adventures there is only so much left for unimportant
> things like a clean environment and a long term future.

To be frank, I was expecting this to happen as well. I didn't make
too much of Bush's plan when it was announced for the very fiscal
reasons you've mentioned. You'll note that NASA is grouped in with
Veteran's Benefits. It's hard to cut veterans and boost NASA.

Even the breakdowns are to be expected. The shuttle dinosaur gets
full funding, and the long range missions are most severely cut.

To be bold, here are my predictions for the future:

1.) If Bush wins the election, unless he manages the finances more
responsibly his space initiative will be doomed.

2.) If Kerry wins the election, spending priorities will shift away
from the Bush vision and likely focus on the CRV and servicing the
existing assets. Return to the Moon and onto Mars will be shelved.

TangoMan