Getting the American public on board any new space policy will be critical to its success. A recent AP poll suggests that this will be a bit of a challenge, given the lukewarm response from the public about new human missions to the Moon or Mars. (For a quick summary, see my Spacetoday.net writeup.)
One interesting aspect of the poll is that some people will be opposed to the plan simply because it is linked to President Bush. The poll results show that respondents are split 48-48 on supporting the plan when the question asked uses the phrase “the United States is considering expanding the space program”. However, that split shifts to 43% in favor vs. 52% opposed when the question uses the phrase “the Bush administration is considering expanding the space program”.
I don’t recall It would also be interesting to see how the results change when the question is asked with no estimate on the cost, an estimate of the total cost, and an estimate of the cost per taxpayer. My understanding is that more people are generally in favor of these programs when they have no idea how much they are going to cost than when they understand how much of their personal income they will “contribute”. It seems intuitive that people aren’t nearly as stingy with money when it comes out of someone else’s wallet instead of their own.
I have to say that, while I am not one of them, I am sympathetic to those who would be against this just because Mr. Bush proposed it. I wouldn’t vote for the man if he gave me the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and said I could run my own space program. Nonetheless, I do support this. I’d be more convinced if Mr. Bush had paid attention to space at any earlier point in his career.
I had been hoping the Democrats — who desperately need a positive agenda — would propose something like this. (See the first article on my Web site.) Bush’s handlers have taken away yet another cause that the Democrats could have campaigned positively on. Damn, Mr. Rove is good! (And, conversely, the Democrats are bad.)
I think Dean’s response was perfect — he’s for it, but wants to pay for it without increasing the debt. He has made other comments hinting at a positive outlook on space.
All that said, I am concerned that space — heretofore a largely bipartisan issue — may get irretrievably politicized in this election, even though I have advocated just that.
Donald F. Robertson
San Francisco
donaldfr@speakeasy.net
http://www.speakeasy.net/~donaldfr
The known is finite, the unknown is infinite; intellectually we stand on an islet in the midst of an illimitable ocean of inexplicability. Our business in every generation is to reclaim a little more land. — Thomas Huxley.
Another interesting issue is that the public, or at least significant sectors of it, tends to overestimate how much money NASA receives. For example, a Zogby poll performed last summer for the Houston Chronicle found that, among some racial groups, nearly one-third thought NASA got more than 10% of the federal budget! (See http://www.thespacereview.com/article/41/1 for an article I wrote about some breakdowns from this specific poll.) The perceptions of how much money NASA gets, and should get, may shape policy as much as the actual budget allocations.
True, they probably do overestimate how much NASA gets, but I think most people don’t want to spend any of their money on NASA. It’s really when they imagine spending other people’s money that they are most pleased to do it, and the closer they get to *actually* parting with their own hard-earned dollars, the less likely they are to want to spend it.
Let’s suppose NASA were to receive only voluntary donations and no taxes. Suppose you asked every taxpayer in American to contribute 5 dollars to support NASA. There is a certain agenda presented along with a budget. You can even guarantee that their money will be refunded if enough other contributions do not come in within a reasonable timeframe to meet the budget. *That* would be the way to truly measure what people think of the space program.
I think you are right about that, Kirstin. Sadly, in a country where smart kids are beat up in school, bonehead jocks and Britney lookalikes are paid more than teachers, critical thinking skills are lacking, and a curiosity about the world around us is at an all time low, it doesn’t surprise me that people don’t want to spend money on space initiatives.
Instead, many would argue, we should spend even more money on people with no hope of digging themselves out of poverty and self-destruction. What is more wasteful?: Inspiring ten kids to seek careers in science, technology, medicine, and business, or spending our tax money on a welfare system so wasteful it boggles the mind? I suggest we develop an economic plan for space, AND clean up our policies on Earth. Great countries plan in great ways. Let’s live up to that.
I think it useful to publicize some financial comparisons when trying to get public support for the space program. In discussions with various people on the subject, I like to point out that Americans spend twice as much on pizza as on the space program. Granted, I like pizza as much as the next guy, who I find it a little hard to believe that the American public would consider pizza consumption a higher national priority than space exploration.
If you asked me to give $5 to NASA instead of spending it on pizza, I’d say forget it.
What will NASA give me? Nothing. Instead, they seem bound and determined to keep regular folks like me out of space by undermining private endeavors time and again.
What will the pizza place give me? A couple of slices of double cheese and mushroom. Mmmm… That sounds like a better deal.
Now instead, if you asked me to give it to a private space entrepreneur, I’d give that some serious consideration. Indeed, I have spent money on those sorts of space efforts and will likely continue to do so voluntarily and with great enthusiasm and satisfaction.
I think the space program sucks!! : – )