Funding for astronomy and science in context ...

[janoskiss]

... by Neil deGrasse Tyson:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_F3pw5F_Pc

His main point: US government bank bailout in the late 2000s (which was money down the drain that achieved nothing) cost more than the entire 50 year running cost of NASA.

Just something to think about.

For more on the 2006-2010 US banking crisis Khan Academy has an excellent rundown on it that even a finance-phobic science nerd like me found very insightful and very interesting:

Prelude (Credit Crisis): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL945E4F0ED131E4D1
Paulson Bailout: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBE233FA3D593154E

[bugeater]

I'm pretty certain the various bailouts have actually made a profit for the US government. In other words they got their money back and more. Hardly money down the drain. It's pretty disingenuous way to argue for funding of the sciences.

Plus a functioning banking system is absolutely necessary for the operation of a modern economy. Shooting stuff at other planets isn't. Plus if your economy is down the toilet, you don't have money to keep guys in lab coats off the streets.

[janoskiss]

Thanks for the interesting perspective. I am certainly financially/economically quite illiterate (and usually loathe the topic - it's like the accountant / "vocational guidance counsellor" sketch from Monty Python says: "it's dull, dull, dull"). But my impression was that the US govt threw loads of money at the impending banking/housing crisis to try and stop a crisis but their attempts failed and it all collapsed in a heap anyway.

[bugeater]

Well the real question is just how bad the crisis would have been if they hadn't intervened. I don't think anyone knows. Unfortunately in the heat of the moment you don't have the luxury of hindsight in these things and it was very, very, very scary. The fear was we were looking down the barrel of another great depression.

The problem is people mix up a moral judgement in all of this. No doubt a lot of people responsible for what happened should have been punished, but never were. No doubt many of these people benefited from the bailouts. But you've got to be careful about cutting off your nose to spite your face in these sorts of situations.

And yes, a lot of finance is quite dull. Science is much more interesting, but the pay aint too good.