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From: henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer)
Newsgroups: net.tv.da,net.politics
Subject: Re: High-Frontier, What Scientists Can Do
Message-ID: <3400@utzoo.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 4-Dec-83 00:34:31 EST
Article-I.D.: utzoo.3400
Posted: Sun Dec  4 00:34:31 1983
Date-Received: Sun, 4-Dec-83 00:34:31 EST
References: <2846@utcsrgv.UUCP>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
Lines: 29

It never ceases to amaze me that sensible people can actually assume
that if X dollars are not spent on weapons, they will be spent on
science.  Nonsense.  If X dollars are not spent on weapons, they will
go to some other government money sink.  In the very unlikely event
that the government can't find some other rathole to pour them down,
the dollars will be left in private hands by cutting taxes a little
in hopes of stimulating the economy.  People who protest against
missile-defense systems on the grounds that they will prevent the space
station, or cripple the planetary program, or hurt scientific research,
are making fools of themselves.  If any of the latter are going to be
hurt by reduced funding, they will be hurt whether a major initiative
in missile defense is undertaken or not!

 "Defence spending has already eliminated almost all of the planetary
  research programs of [N.A.S.A.] over the next decade."

Utter and total nonsense.  One could, with rather more justice, say
that the Space Shuttle development process eliminated most of the
planetary program, but this too implies that no Space Shuttle would have
meant more planetary spending.  No way.  We are already seeing this now 
as the Shuttle development budget starts to wind down -- the money is
***NOT*** going back into the science programs, it is being trimmed
off altogether.  Space has not lost funding because of defence, it has
lost funding because it did not have sufficient backing at high levels
of government.  It would have lost funding even if DoD had been abolished
completely in (say) 1975.
-- 
				Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
				{allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!henry