[Windcatcher]

I’ve always been a space nerd, but I’m getting to the point where we need to stop every penny that isn’t vital for this country to function. Finding life on Mars is nice, but does it really matter? We’ll eventually find out when we land there. We should be spending on two things: defending the planet from hazards and developing tech for cheaply mining space for resources. Then unleash private industry to exploit it. We should be making space profitable; industry always follows when there’s money to be made. We can start handing out space research grants once we’ve paid down this gargantuan debt.

[PeterPrinciple]

once we’ve paid down this gargantuan debt.

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I agree with you. but who is this debt owed to?
Who will receive our hard earned money?

https://www.thebalancemoney.com/who-owns-the-u-s-national-debt-3306124

” This means that U.S. citizens own most of the national debt.”

[Paul R.]

Just turn the Mars exploration over to Elon. But he has to take along some NASA scientists. :-)