Volume II, Issue XXVIII
'Greecing' the Wheels of Economic Growth
The President is on a mission. Government needs to spend more to stimulate the economy. Never mind that Greece just spent itself into oblivion. Government is the new 'growth sector.'
Walking to the Lincoln Memorial, through the Federal Triangle, I noticed the sign below touting 'recovery.' Surely, the sign suggests,it is a good thing for the government to renovate and expand its own offices. After all, there is work for A & E firms, construction companies and GSA's all-time favorite: office furniture manufacturers.
Here's the problem. Expanded spending by the government produces nothing. It does not create new products and create new prosperity. It must, like a bad parasite, eventually consume its host through expanded taxation if it is to continue 'stimulating' the economy.
Eventually it dries up the incentive to bring new products to market and stagnates the economy. It makes ever increasing demands on the companies it buys from while awarding the contract to the low bidder.
Spending your childrens' inheritance to renovate and expand government office space. The rendering is nice though.
Is [Was] NASA an Exception?
When President Kennedy launched the race for space he unleashed one of the greatest works commissioned by government in peacetime. It has been observed that many 'spin offs' from space research became products that improved our lives. Artificial hips and small electronics trace their development to space research, as do many modern building materials.
The space race was actually a fairly small part of the Federal budget and had well understood National security implications. Maintaining American superiority in space technology was brilliantly accomplished with a non-military agency and the research was largely a public-private cooperation.
In my mind the brilliance of NASA was that it was orchestrated, not by the Army Missle Agency, but by a civilian agency and became an inspiration for people around the world. I think the Soviets knew quite well that we were not going to sit back and watch them dominate the high ground of space, but we did so in a manner that said 'aspire with us to higher things.'
Our military always had access to the technology. North American Rockwell, Grumman and Northrup all contracted for defense projects as well as those they did for NASA. When the Shuttle was built it was designed to be used by the military as well, with a launch complex at Vandenberg Air Force Base. We didn't advertise this too much, but the space program always was a place-holder for American ability and strength.
Spin-offs were developed into other useful and life-saving applications by private enterprise. The government provided no manufacturing facilities other than a large building for the assembly of Saturn V boosters.
Thus it might be said that NASA was always true to a Constitutionally mandated purpose in that it helped to maintain our stature during the cold war. Had there been no need to secure our high skies we might well have allowed private enterprise to take us to space, but the high stakes we faced in the middle of the Twentieth Century demanded otherwise.
President Kennedy knew this. Every day his injured back reminded him of the terrible war in the Pacific. He saw the Soviets attempt to place their ICBMs in Cuba and responded with a firm hand. Would that the present occupant of the White House would gain such wisdom.
Americans for Prosperity and Restoring Honor
Phil Has the Details [click to read]. The Defending the American Dream Summit and Restoring Honor are very important.
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