>"I said discussing private alternatives to past government programs was necessarily speculation."

I suppose this is better than calling it a flight of fantasy.

>" The faith, or rather confidence, is in human ingenuity."

Human ingenuity is one of the finest attributes of man as it provides possibilities for the future. It is NOT the logical leap that defines faith as a concept. In your terms, let us keep A=A here.

>" There are large portions of our civilization that have been effective and profitable without major government assistance or interference.."

Correct without question. My point is for you to realize how much further (and how much earlier in the historical time line) we could have gone if our societies had a government that was truly representative, responsible, and organized for the benefit of those governed by it.

>"There are also industries where we have been forced into dealing with the government, or government-approved companies, where private short-cuts have been found around them. The legal monopoly of the Post Office (which never seems to bother anti-trusters), has been largely skated around by the internet, Federal Express, and other alternatives to first class mail."

Thank you, this is a great example and deserves some discussion. Our postal service has long been a successful and effective government enterprise. US mail is less expensive and more reliable than the mail in any other country. The chief problem the postal service faces is the 85 billion dollar subsidy they have to supply to the business community in the form of services. If the postal system only had to carry first class mail they would be profitable. If FedX and UPS had to deal with third class mail they would be broke.

>"I guarantee you that if the government had not built highways, somebody would have, or somebody would have thought of something else."

Right on! The Indians would have done it. And, there would be a turnstyle with a teepee next to it every ten miles on every roadway. If the government hadn't built our highways, way would not have been made for automobile industry, drive in motels, drive in restaurants and entire domestic family tourist industry.

>"I'm feeling pretty good tonight, and just to show what a sweetie I am, I'm gonna let that low, slow one drift over the plate without taking a swing at it."

Thanks, but watch out for my inside curve ball.

>"Duh. I might ask why anyone would go somewhere where losses were guaranteed. If people aren't willing to pay anything for something, it probably isn't all that necessary."

Precisely my point--thank you. This is where governments should come in, to serve the needs of its people where no profits exist or where it will be a long time until profits can be expected. This is the developmental infrastructure I talked about. The funded research products at universities accross the country.

>"No, talking about government waste of resources in science boondoggles. There are many people who can make a convincing case that projects like the Space Station are a waste of resources."

Technical knowledge is the easiest type of knowledge to acquire. By its nature it is accretional. If leaps occurr, they do so on the theoretical level not the product level. Who knows where the next ball point pen will come about? One bit of research might be a "boondoggle" to some, but a source of valuable data when another reads the published data. Viagra was the result of a "boondoggle" in developing a heart med---and then it was discovered there was a marvelous side effect. The valid point is that as a government we can afford to enter into research that would not be warranted by responsible for profit corporations.

>"Of course, my personal viewpoint is that at some point the private sector will figure out a new way to profit from space, and the incentive will then exist to develop cheaper ways of doing things. You may call this "faith" again, but it's something I've invested thirty years of my life in so far."

I am sure this will happen sometime and will be a certain enhancement to society and man-kind at large. In the mean-time, government can establish a foundation for all of us.

Replies:
Florida in the News Again - Lindy 1/19/2002 2:00:23 PM