I almost disregarded this as soon as I saw “New York Times”, but I gave it a shot anyway.
What a whiny bastard.
I think many of the same arguments (same flavor, anyway) were made when sea voyages were first proposed.
Agree, the “NASA way of doing things” is part of the problem.
Propulsion technologies are what need work.
I think like most totalitarians and their advocates, they are afraid of people actually leaving their sphere of influence and becoming independent colonies, and eventually, nations!
No wonder no one wants to fund colonies anymore. They are the ultimate treason! They are leaving!
Can you just imagine a broken down, bankrupt, polluted Earth power demanding a Mars colony support and supply them, and the “Martians” saying “Nope!”
Its not propulsion technologies that need work. What needs work is the willingness to be bold, and to actually do what needs to be done. Launching a rocket from ground on Earth to Mars with a few people on board and getting them back is the problem. A ship needs to be built in space that will never touch the ground on either planet.
The propulsion is already enough.