Researching ET — Your Tax Dollars at Work?

[Gene Steinberg]

I don't want to get into the politics of the situation, but NASA is throwing a small amount of money towards studies about potential ETs. If you believe that the government already knows what's what, this sum, very tiny by government standards, might be a smokescreen to hide the real work being one on the subject.

NASA just dropped $50 million for research on extraterrestrials | Science Recorder

Before you wonder about the government wasting your money, consider how they cut back substantially on funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — to the tune of more than $600 million — and imagine how some of that money might have been used to help fund research into Ebola.

 

[manxman]

Are you thinking imminent disclosure of atleast life, they just need to drop 50 mill to cover up what they already know, another country must have the goods, leaving them little choice, even microbial life is a huge thing, a game changer, they will have to re-write the science books about where we come from.

Oh and if microbial life can get here, im sure the clever guys out there could aswell.

 

[Oakenwulf]

why?, Im sure they already know or aware of ET's as above stated, maybe they making it slowly more exposed but slowly tossing in some funds to seem like things are getting started and they more optimistic about it

 

[Jeff Davis]

I don't want to get into the politics of the situation, but NASA is throwing a small amount of money towards studies about potential ETs. If you believe that the government already knows what's what, this sum, very tiny by government standards, might be a smokescreen to hide the real work being one on the subject.

NASA just dropped $50 million for research on extraterrestrials | Science Recorder

Before you wonder about the government wasting your money, consider how they cut back substantially on funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — to the tune of more than $600 million — and imagine how some of that money might have been used to help fund research into Ebola.

Gene,
Why is it that our government almost NEVER does anything that makes sense? Are we so entrenched in the facade of "do gooding" that we cannot do a single objective thing right with respect to protecting our country's best interests? Namely it's own tax paying populous. Why is that a father can make objective decisions concerning his family that these bozos couldn't seem to emulate if their all lives combined depended on as much?

Politicians are a progressive disease that this country is dieing of IMO.

 

[Gene Steinberg]

Until we have a disease outbreak, and we beg the government to help us.

 

[manxman]

Just as long as they dont come over here and help us, we dont need 100k heavily armed good Samaritan's thanks.

 

[Ezechiel]

Well... its an admission that we will inevitably find signatures of life around planets with the aid of new telescopes within 10 years.

With our new found knowledge concerning exoplanets, we need to be prepared to measure and catalog the distribution of life within our stellar neighborhood and beyond.

If there is an alien race of beings currently engaging the U.S. government, now would be a good time for them to put a stop to our initiatives

 

[AlienEsq]

There's also the possibility that, despite our collective opinions on the level of information possessed by the United States government, the government really is clueless as to the existence of intelligent life on other planets. We could always be wrong.

The de-funding of the CDC is concerning, especially when you consider the Ebola outbreak; however, it's not America's responsibility to find a cure. The CDC is only designed to control the outbreak of infectious diseases like Ebola, and I'm confident in the government that they'll do just that. Stopping it from entering the country is up to the collaborative efforts of the FAA and CDC, but I'm a lot less confident than that.

 

[Gene Steinberg]

Government funding helps private companies do research. You leave it all to the private sector, they will only concentrate on products that yield high profits. And not all drugs fit into that category.

 

[Jeff Davis]

Still in yet, where the hell is our government's ability to be managerially objective? To watch out for it's own. Sheer run away stupidity in action. And YES, I think @AlienEsq is correct. We do not know anything more than these things come and go at will and there is not a single thing we can do about it. If it was a matter of a technology that we could relate to based on humanities present natural environmentally relevant orientations, we would have the technology already. This is stuff that our physiology cannot relate to. We have to regroup. But yes, the government are IDIOTS.

 

[manxman]

One thing ive noticed in my lifetime, is how government drives improvements in society, i mean in a fundamental way.

I see news reports from around the world, rich, poor, its all the same, government facilities are in advance of the society as a whole, state schools in africa, modern classrooms, good facilities, yet the kids live in slums, it is the same almost everywhere, government lead, private sector has no choice but to follow, but no just follow, to get the best qualified, they have to pay more, and provide better working conditions.

And the cycle repeats over and over thru boom and bust.
recession, government job for life is very attractive, then as the years go on, private sector packages tempt the best away as the boom progresses, government has to up its pay and pirks to maintain its quality of staff, until busto, private sector trims its cloth, redundancies galore, and it all repeats again.

Considering governments in general employ around one third of any working population, directly or indirectly, they can and do have a huge influence on pay and conditions.

i mean where else would a 23yr old woman get a job as head of department on £127k a year.
Not anywhere in the private sector for sure, but thats exactly what happened here.

[ that isnt chauvinist shyte, male or female, no-one at 23 is worth 127k as head of dept, its the kind of job for experience, not a young inexperienced single woman, great for her CV and future, piss poor value for money for the tax payer ]

 

[Stagger Lee]

Manx. I've seen something similar here in the states. I've been employed with a public school district for 16 years as "the help"-and back in the 90's the private sector was booming with money to be made. I beat out two other guys who put in for this job- only two because nobody wanted a job with a low starting wage, even though the health bene's and pension were excellent. There was just too much money to be made outside the public sector. When the wall caved in 7 years ago, and folks were losing those great paying jobs- they started showing up at our board meetings demanding to either privatize our positions, or cut our health benefits. As a result they removed my family from my health plan, but couldn't meddle with our pension, as only changes can be made at the state level- and the same folks who would pass laws for change would also be affected. I just found it odd that we here, were virtually invisible to the general public, until about 2008- when the general public were pissed that we were unaffected by economy crash. Even stranger, the majority of those yelling for change, lived in the wealthy part of the township. I'm talking million dollar homes along the Delaware River. The strangest thing though, they targeted us, "the help", while administrators are bringing in a couple hundred grande a year, and they create new positions such as assistant principals who also bring in a good hundred plus grand. Ok, rant over.

 

[Jeff Davis]

@manxman
I guess you could say that they "drive" it, but then again you could say that their reflexive responses effect a majority according to the scope of their power. I mean, if we start including all the civil service employees, which are in all reality chartered and thus vested private sector organizations (read: postal service, sheriffs offices, road commissions, cities, etc.) what we are really talking is just more good ol' boy "who you know, and not what you know" back room BS. The real problem with government is that it *is* involved in financial matters when all it should be concerned with is collecting a sole flat tax from EVERYONE and taking care of it's people. Every country should be responsible for itself. If the weak are not forced to die off as is the case in the natural world, we are bound to a consummate majority of mediocrity that only serves to further enable the elite ruling class.

@Stagger Lee
You bet. This is corrupt government politics in action. It's always about strapping the drones. The workers suffer and carry the bulk while the rich stretch their belts and yawn. The REAL tax payers are just glorified slaves. I know, I am one. The ONLY thing that the "uppers" are ever good for is asking for more. It's all they know, namely: entitlement. Those of us that work our asses off, thinking we will get our just deserts, in reality just do so to feed the elite's self entitled machinery. It's a "set up", and I for one hate it.

 

[manxman]

Yes jeff i do mean drive, they drive up our standard of living, even tho we maybe financially worse off than 10yrs ago in real terms, our standard of living is more comfortable, the basic's improve, and become more affordable, with the exception of energy.

 

[Jeff Davis]

Yes jeff i do mean drive, they drive up our standard of living, even tho we maybe financially worse off than 10yrs ago in real terms, our standard of living is more comfortable, the basic's improve, and become more affordable, with the exception of energy.

LOL!!! Wait a minute...our standard of living goes up, yet we're worse off financially? How does that work? How can out standards of living be more comfortable and affordable if the *ENTIRE cost of living keeps going up and our wages do not? Isn't that a little like getting squeezed in a vice? I am failing to see the logic here. You can't have it both ways. You cannot be worse off financially, and better off with respect to comfort. If that's the case, the ship's going down in a capitalist society. EVERYONE must pay the tab, not just those who choose to work. Checks and balances, or the good guys like me, that used to comprise the middle class in our country, the very heart of it, carry all the lazy ass schmucks that live on unemployment when every shop in town has a fricken help wanted sign in their window.

*read: not just energy, been to the grocery store lately? How about any other commodity one can consume? Exactly what has gone down in price to offset this economic income based flatline.

A good economy is when everyone works, everyone has money in their pockets, and every product on every shelf is within the grasp of the average citizen carrying that money. Everything else is smoke in mirrors and leads to blatant mediocrity. That's where the USA is heading in a hurry. Povertyville. Lowering the national standard is never the answer.

 

[Stagger Lee]

Makes sense to me, that if middle/lower class folk had more money in their pockets, those folks would be spending that money. =good for the economy. vs the super rich hoarding money, not creating jobs- or cutting jobs/services to make more money. How many millions of dollars does a guy need to make in a year?