[j1z0]

>When you say "but without government important initial >research which is costly and unprofitable can't be done"

No that is not what I said at all. If your going to quote somebody quote them correctly. What I did say is that SpaceX wouldn't be possible without NASA. And not to short change SpaceX cause it's an amazing company and they do really cool stuff, it is true that they are building on-top of the tech developed by NASA, and that NASA, in the form of a very large contract to shoot rockets into space also funds (to an large extent) SpaceX. So I don't think you can really argue that point.

To your more general point... You obviously don't like the government, and honestly I don't really either, I agree with you that they are a bunch of bureaucrats and mess up a lot of stuff. But don't let you feelings about the government cloud your vision. As said in the original article for the vast majority of cases Industry does not have the appetite to fund Huge project, i.e. large capital expenditures with very long timelines to pay back the money.

Yes you could come up with cases where industry has, but the majority of these type of project have been funded by the government, and unless we change the rules by which our entire economy operates the government is likely to be the only one to continue to fund them. So rather than just hate the man (if we really want to get these type of things done) we would be better served figuring out how to work with him, or change the quick profit driven model which drives our economy... To me working with the government, as bad as it may sound, is probably an easier task.

[snitko]

The fundamental question is, do we want those big projects done? If we really wanted them, everyone would simply donate money voluntarily when asked, so you would have no problem financing NASA or other big things. If, however, people don't want those things or would rather prefer their money spent differently, NASA becomes an organization financed by theft. People don't want to give it money, yet you take it away from them because you think it's a good idea to go to space. It's not an economical problem, it's a moral one.