[net.space] Going to space vs. feeding the hungry

SAPPHO@SRI-NIC.ARPA (Lynn Gazis) (02/27/86)

Were this a different news group, I would argue against the person
who has suggested that people are unemployed because they are unwilling
to work and think the jobs they are qualified for are beneath them.
Since that strays too much from the topic at hand, I will only say
that people who think we should redirect the money we spend on the
space program to feeding the hungry will be more convinced if we
show them why space exploration is a worthy goal than if we say
they are wrong to want to feed the hungry (though in some cases they
may be wrong about what is the best long-term solution to problems
of hunger).  Myself, I care a lot about feeding the hungry and housing
the homeless, but I feel that doing it at the expense of valuable
research is like eating our seed corn.

Lynn Gazis
sappho@sri-nic
-------