Thursday, January 26, 2012

To the Moon, Newt

The science geek in me likes the thought of returning to space exploration after 40 years of mankind huddling safely on earth.
But the realist in me knows that Gingich's call for a permanent colony on the moon in eight years is less rational than Ralph Kramden's old threat.
To the Moon, Alice.

First, we lack the technology.  Humans have yet to develop a permanent undersea colony. It is far easier to supply the essentials (air, water, food, energy) a few fathoms below the surface of an ocean teeming with life than to support a facility on a barren rock a quarter of a million miles from the nearest anything.

Second, how does Newt plan to pay for this? I guess he could eliminate the Food Stamp program. Naw, ain't enough money there. Newt would have to support a return to the tax levels when President Kennedy first proposed an United States moon mission. The top marginal tax rate in 1962 was 91%.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

This is classic Newt, though!

This is the guy who wanted to send huge mirrors into space to brighten the roads at night, thus lowering the cost of street lighting to communities!

This is the guy who wanted to give laptops to the homeless so they could invest their money in the stock market.

The guy is a loon. He can be a fun loon, so long as he's nowhere near a decision making position.

Anonymous said...

He is pandering to voters in Florida. The proposal will disappear when he gets to other states. Perhaps the only thing less stable than a Gingrich position is a Romney position.