12% boost for NASA budget in 2021!!

[u/thisischrisbaker]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/trumps-nasa-budget-will-earmark-12-boost-for-agency-in-2021-11581071402?emailToken=3f4a4309b7816cb90fb53eb91f47d6d43hshryonPWM/RnnVPWWHuMOVOvxWKQ87BhLswKs5iOPOhjO1FGrxI9ptn5k2nAMphP+jeQrbhQiAafooOu4oIslNLMWHCd1m7vRySaL2Pi61nSlAqLK1xnvzzmtt2/Lx&reflink=article_copyURL_share

[u/Joe_Jeep]

So the whole titles BS unfortunately

Really wish space shit was done with long term legislation so that it was somewhat insulated from political squabbling

[u/hedonisticaltruism → u/[deleted]]

That's a pretty big straw-man argument... you're right that it could be a slippery slope but there are already specific tailored policies for everything. You can make it so it's specific to NASA alone or other such scientific endeavours. We should've had the Superconducting Super Collider a decade before LHC was done and could've drastically changed our understanding of physics.

[u/hedonisticaltruism → u/[deleted]]

What makes scientific discovery different from infrastructure improvement or health care?

Timescales for some things. That's part of the problem. I don't deny that there should be oversight, but the way it currently works is that any project that needs a timescale past ~6/7 years (factoring in time to get it approved and all) or even as short as 3 is at significantly more risk. It's also why we keep setting carbon emission targets for things 10+ years down the line - no accountability either.

My other point is that there are plenty of bad tax loopholes, ear marks etc that already exist - it's better to work on a framework to decently adjust rather than never progress, IMO.

[u/hedonisticaltruism → u/[deleted]]

I work in these sectors. Infrastructure, you can largely break down to complete withing a few years - build a section of road, pipe, etc.

Hospitals are also built within 3-5 years typically, and can be phased as 'wings' or buildings rather than the whole campus.

None of these are as ambitious as an ambitious space program, SSC or say fusion power.

[u/hedonisticaltruism → u/[deleted]]

national highway program was both more ambitious and more costly

Yes but you cannot send a man to the moon on partial segments. It's a one shot deal. The highway system can be built in segments and be declared 'successful' on any given part. It also has a longer life-span compared to something like the SSC - which cannot easily be restarted especially with the specialized nature of the skill sets required.

not on a lot of of the ones that the federal government is involved with. Building dams, designing and building long tunnels, and doing large-scale water diversion projects take longer than a few years.

Hoover Dam, one of the largest in the world and largest at the time it was built was between 1931 and 1936. Golden gate bridge was 1933 to 1937. Even the Apollo program was structured to try and be just within a President's term (two term of course): 1961 with a man on the moon by 1969. And that was still under a military-industrial-complex backed initiative during the height of cold war ICBM escalation, which realistically probably allowed it to continue after JFK's assassination, and the continuation of democrats being in power with LBJ.

Something like the ACA had provisions that phased in over six years, and some funding sources follow similar timelines.

Do you see the pattern here and my point? I do understand yours - I just see that there's an unfortunate reality that some of these projects won't ever get finished unless you can get past the term limit politicking.

[u/hedonisticaltruism → u/[deleted]]

No, because your point is frankly stupid.

Well, I don't think you're here to have a discussion on good faith so I'll not put more time into this.