“Doomsday never arrived, apparently.”
“Doomsday never arrived, apparently.”
The topic isn’t meteorites, but something more critical to our survival as a society.
Tag: debt
An outline of the cuts NASA would do if sequestration occurs on March 1 includes shutting down commercial crew while leaving the Space Launch System untouched.
An outline of the cuts NASA proposes if sequestration occurs on March 1 includes shutting down commercial crew while leaving the Space Launch System untouched.
I am in favor of sequestration, as it will only bring NASA’s budget back to the numbers the agency received in 2005, numbers that were then totally sufficient to build Constellation and fly the shuttle. Now that the cost of the shuttle is gone there should be sufficient cash today for everything NASA wants to do.
To favor the very expensive and not very useful SLS system over the new commercial crew contracts however is madness. I suspect this letter is meant as a lobbying sledge hammer to try to convince Congress to cancel sequestration. If it is serious, however, than say good-bye to any manned American spacecraft for at least another few years, as I expect the new private companies will not disappear, but their effort will be slowed significantly as they search for alternative funding.
NASA has now agreed to contribute equipment and researchers to a European dark energy mission.
The check is in the mail: NASA has now agreed to contribute equipment and researchers to a European dark energy mission.
And why should Europe have any expectation that NASA will follow through? Europe’s ExoMars project was screwed badly when NASA pulled out last year. Nor was that the first time the U.S. government reneged on a deal with Europe.
Considering the fragile nature of the U.S. federal budget, I wouldn’t depend on anything from NASA or any U.S. government agency for the foreseeable future. And this includes the various private space companies such as SpaceX and Orbital Sciences that are using NASA subsidies to build their spaceships. Get those things built, and quickly! The government money could disappear very soon.
An expensive Frankenstein in space
The European Space Agency and NASA have confirmed that the Europeans will be building the service module for Orion.
Several points:
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According the the inspector general, the Post Office will go out of business this year unless Congress bails it out.
The day of reckoning looms: According the the inspector general, the Post Office will go out of business this year unless Congress bails it out.
And where will Congress and President Obama find the cash? Print it of course, which of course they plan to do with all their other budget problems. Get ready for inflation, gang!
“The toll collectors on the road to serfdom.”
Health premiums to double under Obamacare.
Finding out what’s in it: Health premiums to double under Obamacare.
The future of the social security program is worse than you think.
The future of the social security program is worse than you think.
For the first time in more than a quarter-century, Social Security ran a deficit in 2010: It spent $49 billion dollars more in benefits than it received in revenues, and drew from its trust funds to cover the shortfall. Those funds — a $2.7 trillion buffer built in anticipation of retiring baby boomers — will be exhausted by 2033, the government currently projects.
And this is from the New York Times, of all places! Of course, as soon as any politician suggests instituting any of the reforms suggested in the article the Times will then start screaming bloody murder in protest. They are very good at appearing nuanced and thoughtful about the debt, until someone actually suggests doing something about it.
The good, bad, and (mostly) ugly of the fiscal deal.
The deindustrialization of America.
The deindustrialization of America.
But don’t worry. Congress has delayed dealing with the debt for another few months!
The federal government has reached its debt limit today.
The day of reckoning looms: The federal government has reached its debt limit today.
Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner told Congress that the U.S. hit its statutory debt limit, necessitating emergency steps announced last week as a way to keep funding the government and avoid default. Geithner said he had issued a “debt issuance suspension period” for the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund, effective today and to last until Feb. 28, 2013. The letter said the Treasury was taking similar action for the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund.
This is only a temporary solution that solves nothing. And the fake negotiations over the fake “fiscal cliff” are doing even less than nothing to deal with the debt situation. We are bankrupt and worse, we are continuing to refuse to face that reality.
The federal government will hit the debt ceiling on December 31.
The day of reckoning looms: The federal government will hit the debt ceiling on December 31.
The treasury will do things to stall the inevitable crash, but in the end, our elected leaders – backed by the voters — are doing nothing to solve this debt problem. (On this note, consider the absolute refusal of this Democrat to consider any spending cuts in negotiations with the Republicans.) The crash is coming.
Obama’s proposal to avoid sequestration would increase spending 55 percent over the next decade.
The day of reckoning looms: Obama’s proposal to avoid sequestration would increase spending 55 percent over the next decade.
I can’t understand how is it that anyone takes anything this guy says seriously.
Seven charts that outline the true and terrible state of the economy.
The day of reckoning looms: Seven charts that outline the true and terrible state of the economy.
“We are not going to do anything.”
Senate Democrats in action: “We are not going to do anything.”
But of course, it will be the Republicans’ fault, even though their proposed bill is one that Harry Reid himself considered acceptable earlier this year.
Hurricane Sandy relief funding turns into Porkfest 2012
Surprise surprise! Hurricane Sandy relief funding turns into Porkfest 2012.
Sequestration and NASA
Here we go again. Yesterday an aerospace organization, Aerospace Industries Association, released a sixteen page report [pdf] claiming that NASA will lose 20,500 jobs and NOAA 2,500 if the federal government goes over the “fiscal cliff” and sequestration happens.
Immediately, a slew of news articles xeroxed this report to pound home this point, noting the job loses for the specific cities of each newspaper and how disaster awaits the country if sequestration is allowed to take place and we go over that blessed “fiscal cliff”:
- Fiscal cliff could cost Colorado 2,100 space jobs
- Budget cuts to cost Houston more than 5,000 NASA jobs, study says
- 1,300 aerospace jobs said at risk in Huntsville if nation goes over fiscal cliff
The trouble is, this is all hogwash and bad journalism.
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Lacking focus
A new National Research Council report released yesterday says that NASA lacks focus nor can it complete the missions it has with the resources available.
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The GAO is concerned about the future budget and schedule of the James Webb Space Telescope.
O goody: The GAO is concerned about the future budget and schedule of the James Webb Space Telescope.
This is very bad news if true for NASA’s astronomy program. Webb was originally budgeted at $1 billion and scheduled to launch in 2011. Its budget is now $8.8 billion and its launch is now set for October 2018. And until it launches there is little money to build any other space telescope.
The toughest bridge in the world
An evening pause: I think the trucks in this video are a perfect metaphor for the American public’s attitude towards the federal debt. So what there are yellow flashing warning signs! Charge on!