Dear Mr. Sanders,
I'm writing this letter to you confident that you listen to the voters/citizens of this nation, and use reason and logic when you come to a decision to support something or not to lend support. I'm confident that you will come to a conclusion that is of interest to the common good.
As you say, unemployment among our youth of all races in this country is abysmal. While big corporations buy politicians with the end goal of sending our jobs overseas, our youth languish in poverty, and have no hope for the future! This situation causes them to lose hope, and become susceptible to drug abuse, gang initiation or even worse, to join terrorists groups and commit acts of violence.
I believe the idea of putting millions of Americans to work rebuilding our infrastructure is a worthy cause, and would go very far in relieving the unemployment burden we have today. Also the idea of making community college in this nation tuition free is an excellent way to reinvigorate our competitiveness in the world's market. Our youth would have hope because they could get a proper education, and then start out on their own with the tools to make America great, knowledge. They also would contribute mightily to the economy because they wouldn't be saddled with overbearing debt!
Given all of that, I think we need added variables into the equation. There will come a time when our people will have caught up with the rebuilding of the infrastructure. From that point in time, it will not take so many people to maintain the infrastructure, or build additions. What then?
I found this posted at http://feelthebern.org/bernie-sanders-on-science-and-technology/
“Space Exploration: Bernie supports NASA’s mission and is generally in favor of increasing funding for NASA, but only after the needs of Americans on Earth are first met. “
I ask you to reconsider your opinion given the following information.
During the banking crisis the treasury made $16 trillion in low interest loans to the very banks that caused the problem in the first place. It cost our nation $176 billion (2009 dollars) for the cost of Apollo and other space related things in the time frame of 1962 to 1972. $16 trillion could of supported 91 times the NASA effort had back during the 1962-1972 space effort.
At its peak, the Apollo program employed 400,000 Americans and required the support of over 20,000 industrial firms and universities. 400,000 X 91 = 36,400,000 jobs
12 million persons were unemployed in 2009 at the peak of the recession. I hope you see where I'm going with this. We were taken to the cleaners big time by corrupt politicians, and Wall Street criminals. Our nation spent all that money, fiat money, and got precious little in return.
Consider this, a report states that development of SLS through its first flight in 2017, the ground systems for that effort, and the first two Orion flights in 2017 and 2021 are estimated by NASA to cost between $19-22 billion as follows: SLS, $7.7-8.6 billion; ground systems, $2.8-3.1 billion; and Orion., $8.5-10.3 billion. http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/news/gao-slams-nasas-cost-estimating-fo...
US Government Bailout Guarantees $16.9 trillion Includes guarantees from US Treasury, Federal Reserve and other US government agencies.
http://www.usfederalbailout.com/
If I take the high number from NASA and use it to divide $16.9 trillion, I get 768 Orion projects. When I take that into consideration, and look back at what the Apollo program did for our nation. There is no arguing the point of if the Apollo Program did our nation any good. Of that there is no doubt! From my prospective, I see millions of jobs, accelerated advancement in technology, and a lot of sociological/economic problems solved.
Just imagine the jobs that would create! All that stuff needs skilled hands to build it. Educated hands.
The financial institutions that were bailed out would have reaped the benefits too! All them people working in factories building the space infrastructure of the 21st century would be needing savings accounts and checking accounts. All them newly employed people would of been buying houses, instead of loosing them to predatory lending practices.
When president Kennedy made his historic speech, we didn't have the technology to get to the Moon. Then before the decade was over as that visionary wished it to be, humans were walking on the moon. At the same time our economy was booming, and a golden era of technological progress commenced like the world has never known! Part of it was because of war, the other was because of the space program. Now we don't have a war, but we do have the technology to put giant space stations in orbit. To build huge rockets to lift heavy loads into orbit. To get back to the Moon, and start industry to exploit space resources. To mine asteroids to provide for that new industry. To go claim Mars, and use it for the good of all humanity. It is all there for us, and we have the means to accomplish this worthy task. We only need the political will, and a leader who will lead us into that future we thought we had coming, but lost.
You've read stories of World War II. You've seen video of the actual battles. All of that was built by people working long and hard in factories, and getting paid to do it. We had a terrible enemy to face down, and so we have an enemy today, greed and poverty. It will take the same dedication as it did back then. It will be hard too. Sacrifices will have to be made by us all. Tragedy will have to be endured! Still we can do it.
The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 was 7 years ago already. Could you imagine what things would be like if our nation had of put all that $16 trillion into 91 Apollo size programs, with the training, and people employed, etc. etc.?
It is time Humans do this. Time to industrialize and colonize our solar system. This is an open-ended project, with unlimited returns. It will solve problems both social, and economic.
The efforts we need to build a new society, who's industry is based on the unlimited potential of exploiting the cosmos, can still be had. We can avoid the further economic enslavement of humanity by greedy, self serving people if we take all of the actions you have promoted so energetically. With all your solutions, and the exploitation of the moon, Mars the asteroid belt, orbital solar generating stations and factories. All the quarters that the newly educated, and highly skilled citizens will need while off world. Supplies and all manner of products would be needed by our new colonies on the moon and Mars, so our economy would follow humanity and grow. It would be an economy based on unlimited abundance, instead of one based on scarcity. An economy based on scarcity breeds a lot of the trouble that face our world. Poverty, greed, avarice and worst of all, war.
Please reconsider your position concerning our efforts in space.
James E Parks Jr
Retired Aerospace Worker
