NASA- A Money Hole
Funding for NASA should not be increased
Priorities Are Important
The government is experiencing a severe financial crisis and it cannot afford to spend billions of dollars on space exploration when citizens are struggling to meet the cost of living. According to SPACE.com, Neil deGrasse Tyson reported "President Barack Obama set [the NASA budget] at $17.7 billion in his 2013 federal budget request". While NASA should still receive funding, it does not need the extensive amount the President requests. Our nation simply needs to focus more on the well-being of the citizens rather than whether or not there is water on Mars.
Financial Breakdown of NASA
Needed Decreases for NASA
Shouldn't We Learn About Our Earth First?
Live Here and Now
While the future is important, it is the present that determines what that future will be. With that said, it is crucial to help the economic situation with the people of the United States so that advancements and improvements may be made in the future. For instance, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden stated, "This budget requires us to live within our means so we can invest in our future" (Phys.org). The main financial focus should be strengthening the middle class instead of having the wealthy become wealthier and the poor become poorer. The monies that would have gone to increase NASA's budget can be put to research for alternate energy sources and methods for a greater amount of healthy, affordable food production. It is not that NASA will lose all monies but instead "live within our means" to protect the present and the future of our citizens.
Advancing Technology One Spinoff at a Time
While majority of NASA's funding seems to be focused solely on exploring space, there have been a variety of inventions known as spinoffs that benefit people in everyday life. According to J.R. Wilson from NASA.gov, "the term 'spinoff' was invented to describe specific technologies developed by NASA for its missions that are transferred for commercial use". Majority of the spinoffs were not designed specifically for commercial use but have been modified to help make life easier. For example, it was "NASA-inspired communications satellites connect the world, while orbiting eyes in the sky track hurricanes, wildfires, and volcanoes" (NASA.gov). NASA inspired satellites help us track weather patterns everyday. Even though a great deal of money is geared to advancing our current knowledge of the world beyond Earth, there is a large portion of NASA that aims to connect their knowledge to furthering everyday technologies. With this said, the extensive funding for NASA has not been entirely wasted. There are numerous spinoffs in which people usually do not know originated from NASA technology.
Funding is Complicated
It seems as though there is never enough money for those who are fighting for survival while others have so much they do not know what to do with it. Funding for government programs is a controversial topic because nowadays the United States economy is struggling and the programs need to be prioritized. NASA is an expensive program because of it's purpose. It does not merely look into space but aims to venture into extreme climates and collect as much data as it can. Unfortunately, certain goals of NASA will not provide relevant information to make the extensive funding appropriate. NASA should never be entirely deprived of funding, but with a weak economy the funding should not be increased. It is simple that the U.S is in an enormous amount of debt and the nation cannot afford to enlarge the funding for NASA when other issues, such as nonrenewable energy sources, are more of a problem.
Works Cited
DeGrasse Tyson, Neil. "Boosting NASA's Budget Will Help Fix Economy." SPACE.com. Denise Chow, 17 Apr. 2012. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.
Dunbar, Brian. "Space Program Benefits." NASA. NASA, 21 July 2008. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.
Santini, Jean-Louis. "Obama: Five-year Freeze on NASA Budget." Obama: Five-year Freeze on NASA Budget. N.p., 14 Feb. 2011. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.