So, because someone else has overruns, that makes it okay for NASA, too? Not in my book. Face it, Kim, government projects of almost any type routinely run over budget and are late. I cited examples of civil projects like Boston's Big Dig, the Reagan Office Building, even the Park Service's $250,000 outhouse. How about almost any highway project built in the last 50 years? There's virtually nothing high tech about any of those projects. They're just big spending programs built primarily for political purposes rather than actual need.

How can government project managers continue to get away with incompetence decade after decade? Primarily, it's almost impossible to fire inept civil servants (an oxymoron) and they have little incentive to control costs. After all, they can always go back and stick it to the taxpayers for more money. No private company would build a launcher that required thousands of employees and about a million man-hours per launch unless they were doing it on a government contract. Private industry always has to keep profitability in mind. No private company would spend a billion dollars on an office building, either. They don't have "spend it or lose it" policies in many private companies, either.

The government wastes money hand over fist and doesn't bat an eye. Who cares if they bust the budget, there's always more tax money where that came from. I condemn government waste and inept management regardless of department. Just because some black programs are ineptly managed does not in any way excuse the same stupidity at NASA. As big a space enthusist as I am, I don't give NASA a pass any more than anyone else. Until NASA's so-called management can prove it has the ability to properly manage the budget it already gets, I won't support any increase in their funding. It's as simple as that. I know that may affect you in your paycheck but so be it. Those who keep pushing for more taxes and ever increasing government spending have been slamming my paycheck for almost 30 years. You won't get any tears from me.