[antithesizer]

[flagged]

[tomhow]

For the second time in two days we're having to remind you of the guidelines. HN isn't for engaging in ideological battle or posting snarky swipes about any nation's or region's superiority or inferiority. HN is for curious conversation about interesting topics. If that's what you're looking for, great, please make an effort to show it. If you keep up the snark, we'll have to ban the account.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45008078 and marked it off topic.

[chr1]

If you look closer you'll see that this rockets are key to billions of people living on other planets, to cheaper internet, to better telescopes, to satellites controlling weather.

Ultimately this is an important step towards a future with healthcare providing thousands of years of life, and unlimited housing space.

[itishappy]

There are billions alive on this planet today. I think it's important to keep both the present and future in mind.

[idiotsecant]

This attitude that because one thing is bad we should ignore everything else is an incredibly small idea. Yes, we have a professional class of rent seeking middlemen that have captured the American healthcare industry. That sucks. We also have the industrial and technological power to do cool stuff. Let's do both things. Fix our problems and advance our technology.

[imoverclocked]

To be fair, the same people benefiting from large government subsidies to develop private space travel are the same one(s) that actively gutted social programs and entire government agencies that provide value to the general population.

NASA is cool and undergoing massive defunding. Education is already under-funded and now under attack. Science is being actively squashed and replaced with religion yet somehow, you think space travel will become more likely?

[durandal1]

But what we can't have is affordable housing and healthcare without private actors effectively involved in value creation. As has been demonstrated over and over again.

[devmor]

We could have both, easily. It’s a shame.

[BurningFrog]

Starship isn't really a country.

[monkeywork]

grass is always greener...