1. That's good to hear, it's not something I'm knowledgable about
2. I disagree here, though. The fleet might be aging, but how close to being decommissioned? And how does this play into private contracting (like with SpaceX, for example)? I think this feeds into the third point, to be honest.
3. I'm arguing it comes down to
really short term investments, here. Presidential terms are four years. You have to run with a platform that's arguably achievable in that timeframe (I'd assume), right? It's how the Brexit thing got us - people just want it done, people don't see what's going to happen half a decade, or a decade from now. A similar battle of public opinion happens every election cycle in the US. I'm very aware I'm not saying groundbreaking new things here, though.
Peoples' attention is a limited resource, as is the energies of the people trying to pass law itself. If Sanders did win in 2020, and had four years to do as much as he and his staff could do (given that the Republicans are more than happy to just stonewall legislation, or even government function itself), you absolutely have to pick and choose your battles. It's not just a matter of the basic economics involved. It involves political capital.
And more than that, any class struggle in America will not be solved in four years, even if everything went Sanders' way. Not a chance in hell. You have to lay groundwork. This is my layman's opinion, and I'm very welcome to be proven wrong, but I don't see space-related industry labour as being vital to that. At the very least, it is something that can wait a few years before it needs prioritising (assuming it needs
prioritising, more than just maintening the same level of funding).
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I have avoided, to this point, the separate argument of not
focusing on space-related expenditure is in no way a claim to cutting current expenditure, because it takes me away from the class-related discussion I wanted to have. That said, I am also aware that that doesn't necessarily do anything to settle folks' fears either (which is another reason I didn't want to raise it).
PS: I appreciate the breakdown and info here. I like rockets, but I barely know anything about rockets! Definitely one of the things that marks me as a Civilisation player more than any actual real-world grounding on the subject