[FoRK] Large changes in fiscal policy: taxes versus spending

[Ken Ganshirt @ Yahoo]

--- On Fri, 10/30/09, Jeff Bone <jbone at place.org> wrote:
> 
> Now, I will make a value judgment:  frankly I don't
> care if we alt.pave.the.earth, so long as in doing so we get
> some form of human-derived intelligence wave-front spreading
> outward first.
> 

My fear is that we have the pedal hard against the firewall and will smash right into that brick wall of planetary carrying capacity well before we hit escape velocity.

Contributing factors to that fear: 

  Right Here on That Unremarkably Unhappy Blue Green Planet: Exponential population growth in the countries that are, simultaneously, trying their damndest to achieve our rate of consumption in about one more generation, maybe two. Even if I bought that stuff about technology increasing carrying capacity I don't see a corresponding R&D outlay in those countries. They have a stated intent to use the technologies we've developed to consume the way we do. Back To The Future.

  Hard Space Vehicle Progress: Sure, I know NASA is going to have another go at the moon but all NASA funding is really half-hearted and going downhill. And nobody else is trying at all, hardly.

  Wetware Space Vehicle Progress: I know of no psychics who have been able to get R&D funding in spite of the popularity of Ghost Whisperer and Medium. There might be $$$ going into military R&D in this field but it's probably focused on just one more way to keep an eye on us.

>
> $0.02, YMMV.
>

But of course.

        ...ken...


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