THESE days, it seems that George W. Bush is acting more like JFK than one would expect from a Republican. This isn't to say that Laura Bush should start to worry about her husband's fidelity. But recently the two presidents' agendas have recently looked similar. In fact, it's surprising that Bush didn't borrow a few words from JFK in his speech yesterday addressing plans to expand the space program, saying something like "We choose to go back to the moon." Though it isn't a feeling I'm likely to have again, these promises of renewed space exploration are making me glad that our president is starting to resemble a Kennedy.
This week, the President is expected to publicly give an overview of a new space initiative, which would involve sending astronauts to the moon again as part of a long-term goal to visit Mars (CNN.com, Jan. 9, 2004, "Bush to seek manned flights to moon, Mars"). Grand in scope, the initiative would require significant amounts of government spending. This raises some concern, as the Bush administration has already increased spending through activities such as the war in Iraq. Even so, the federal government has ample justification for using its dollars to re-energize the space program.
Since its inception, the space program has given birth to many technologies that have improved the quality of life on Earth. Life-saving devices such as smoke detectors and pacemakers evolved from tools originally developed by NASA for use in exploring space (NASA.gov, "NASA Spinoff Database"). In addition, space provides a unique environment that enables certain scientific research with medical and engineering applications. Even space-based research that doesn't initially appear to relate to the well-being of humanity bears the possibility of unexpected benefits, as no one can predict where scientific discovery will lead. By donating more resources to space exploration, the new initiative opens the door to technological development that could have positive impacts both socially and economically.
A healthy and active NASA also has the power to inspire. While research on earth generally takes place in laboratories unseen by the public, millions can view a high-profile NASA mission on nightly news broadcasts. The sense of adventure engendered by manned missions to other celestial bodies is able to give the ordinary person an interest in the academic and scientific topics related to space travel. During the Apollo missions of NASA's heyday, many young people chose to study math and science because the space program demonstrated an interesting use of those topics.
Often, scientific endeavors, such as those in the space program, could not exist without government aid. Though all marketable innovations come as a result of some form of research, pure scientific experimentation is not usually immediately profitable for a private individual. In other words, few corporations could count on making money by sending astronauts to Mars. The government is the only entity charged with providing for the public good, and it has the ability to direct money to programs like NASA that aren't tailored to keep net profits in the black.
Still, the federal budget must be kept in mind, even in the face of a program as potentially beneficial as space exploration. No matter what good comes from Bush's new space initiative, the American people will feel the brunt of a government that spends itself carelessly into a continuous deficit. If Congress approves the spending required by Bush's plan, changes must be made to other areas of the budget in order to compensate. Raising taxes would be an obvious solution, but this path would be both unpopular and unlikely, based upon Bush's history of fighting for tax cuts. A more reasonable course of action would be to reduce funding to other domestic programs or attempting to subsidize government spending by providing tax incentives to those who financially support NASA's objectives.
It may seem easy to dismiss Bush's hopes for the future of space travel as more frivolous government spending, but this is not the case. As demonstrated by the history of NASA's ventures into space, sending men and women to explore distant locations in ways once unimaginable can have real benefits for the people living on this planet.
(Chris Kiser's column appears Thursdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at ckiser@cavalierdaily.com.)
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