A really exciting thing happened today. And it will be celebrated as a leap forward for space travel. It is really something else. It is a reminder that in this country, someone with an idea and the right combination of skill, talent, and knowledge, along with financing necessary for production, can do anything. And they can do it better than the Government.
I won’t dwell on the specifics of the flight, but rather the memory of two brothers who changed the world 100 years ago in the same way. No government funding. No prize money to be awarded. Just the desire to do something that hadn’t been done before, and the dream of possible financial success realized from that accomplishment drove them to perform. This flight shares that vision.
This country’s economy was built on just such vision. No other country has been able to compete. None. Yet we have many people who feel the Government has all the answers. University researchers have lived for decades on the largesse of our politicians. You remember the grants given to study how a frisbee flies, or how much flatulence is produced by cows? Federal money donated to professors for research.
This comes up as the stem cell research issue comes to the front of the Presidential debate. Just whose ox is getting gored? Listen to who is doing all the screaming. And they’ve managed to get average citizens outraged as well with rhetoric. Federal research money has never done much except generate promises of breakthroughs if only more money is made available for research. Private research has always outdone federal research. It does it because a private entity wants to see results as quickly as possible. Research money is an investment, not an expenditure. Payoff is the expectation. The prize won by SpaceShipOne isn’t the payoff, but simply the demonstration of a capability which will bring payoff.
The less government is involved in your life, the better your life will be.
***UPDATE***
John has another data point in this series regarding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
10 million dollar prize.
Tell me again, why am I blogging?
Comment by Alex — October 4, 2004 @ 10:45 am