GO ahead, I Dare You

In light of all the recent nattering and chattering about the NASA budget and how the sky is falling because Constellation got axed (never mind that it was underfunded under the previous administration and might not have flown in the next anyway), and how Americans are being denied their rightful place in space, or — even worse — how we’re spending SOOOO much on NASA that other programs aren’t being funded, I’d like to point everybody to a very nice page put together by the New York Times that shows you just how our projected $3.69 TRILLION U.S. budget is going to be spent. I might point out that under President Obama, the NASA budget is due for some increase in some areas — notably R&D and outreach, both places that could stimulate growth and jobs as NASA works to create sustainable growth while eventually getting us into space on a regular basis.

Here’s a screen grab of the NYT graphical budget– go ahead and enlarge it. I want you to look at the lower right area, where I’ve highlighted a box in blue.  That box is where NASA fits in. Not everything in that box IS about NASA — just some of it. Then, look at the whole budget picture and think about what it says about our country’s commitment to science, techn0logy, and education — especially compared to everything else in the budget. I mean, NASA and NSF and other science funding is less than the agriculture line item (which includes outreach, education, and crop insurance).

Food for thought, folks. Food for thought.