Why doesn't the American Government give Americans free health care? But will spend billions on space programs
476592
they don't care about you, here in Australia everybody has free healthcare..
719477
I would have to say yes. As an avid amateur astronomer the search for knowledge is always a good thing. After all, the Hubble still has a few good years left in it, but they won't upgrade it (I think it's a mirror, that was made specifically for it, and it's still sitting on earth because NASA wants to scrap the Hubble). Mind you, I could be wrong about NASA's decision, since I heard it was going to change and they would be upgrading after all. As for us willing to spend the money, sure. After all, our tax dollars are being wasted elsewhere. I honestly believe the individual should decide where the majority of their own tax dollars are spent.
885593
i think in terms of america and other industrialized nation that can utilze space travel and has vested interest in it. there are to many people that waste there lives on trivial crap (sports, celebrities,)  plus when dictators cuase problems resourses go from such commodities like space travel to military expence.  i think if we can cut these cancers from our society we would have the leasure to focus on space travel\n\nsome beilieve if the library of alexandri wasnt destroyed and scientific enlightenment had flourished we may be colonizing the solar sytem by know,  but its imposible to say what would have happend
734552
Put your crack pipe down and step way back....they don't have "enough" control.   Universal health care will not work in our capitalistic society...and College will never be free...it is all a business and they are out to make money...yours!!!!
631273
I am for neither, I am 45 yrs of age, it seems to me that this Country is in some serious Crap. We/USA are always more concerned with other Countries and their well being. The USA is not taking care of their own people first, as they should be. We have many, many people in our own country that is homeless, going hungry, etc. Yes there are a few programs out there that are trying to help, but come on, all that food and medical that other Countries are getting, why not give it to our country first where it is so desperately needed. Medical in the USA is crazy, I have to work 2 jobs at 32 hours a week for each, yes i am correct here on the hours, i get very little sleep and am getting burned out. just so i can have medical, one medical plan does not cover what i would like it to, so i have to have another medical plan to try and make up for the first one. Now how crazy is that? You asked me whom I am standing up for? believe in? well no one has earned my belief yet. I hope the future changes that.
26507
Its the goverment. the goverment works like snails only slower. Have you seen the public leaping past NASA.  well they will soon
294872
The American government doesn't help half as much as they'd have you think they do.\n\nSome transnational businesses are in the habit of helping others, but only if there's a profit to be had.\n\nHelp isn't free, it always comes with a price.
828510
NASA is a government agency and is funded in large part by tax dollars.  As a result, NASA must maintain excellent PR among voters and elected officials for the sake of its funding.\n\nNASA does public outreach, raising awareness of science and math in school age children.  This is probably the goal that directly involves the largest portion of the lay public.\n\nAside from that, it starts getting more technical, yet more beneficial to mankind.  Unfortunately most of mankind doesn't understand the 'why' or 'how' involved.  They may never notice that airplanes are becoming quieter and cleaner, that our ability to predict climate is improving, that our science books are being rewritten on a yearly basis.  \n\nNASA has invested a great amount of resources in looking at the background microwave radiation left over from the Big Bang, and looking for gravitational waves that distort space-time and answer fundamental questions about our universe.  At the heart of these space missions is actual science.  Physicists at NASA won Nobel prizes for their work this year, and will probably do so again.\n\nTechnology developed by NASA has helped a wide range of companies, from communications to mattress manufacturing.  This innovation is part of what fuels the entrepreneurial spirit in this country.  It's the reason why America is still a bastion of opportunity.\n\nThe missions that NASA embarks upon involves collaboration with a huge array of private companies.  Giants like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Thiokol are all involved in building the rockets, satellites, and space systems that NASA uses.  These companies also benefit when NASA develops new technology, because it is usually they type of technology that they cannot afford to develop yet.\n\nUnfortunately, the Big Bang, gravity waves, and Mars' atmosphere matter little to the bible thumping redneck.  They demand results for their tax dollars.  The fact that their children can dream of one day travelling to Mars or working with new technology means nothing.  To them, NASA is just another example of wasteful government beauraucracy even though it gets less than 1% of the federal budget.\n\nThat is why outreach is necessary.
422291
I'm a Republican, and I've always been against public health care.  I've always thought that if I had to work for a living (and insurance) then everyone should have to.  No freebies.  Well, after actually having to use my insurance, and along with paying deductibles, co-payments, and 20% of all other bills, and having racked up medical bills in excess of $1,500 (which I most definitely cannot afford!), I have changed my mind and would love a public health care system.  No necessarily along the lines of Canada's health care system, but at least something to help those without insurance, and those who are low income.  Maybe have government run clinics set up in each county where anyone that is below a certain income level could receive full healthcare, including MRI, CT Scan, X-Ray, vision, dental, etc at a reduced rate.  Something like that anyway.  I got a bill from the emergency room for $1,400...for two shots.  That's it.  If the government isn't ever going to offer free healthcare to its' citizens, it should at least put a cap on what physicians can charge for their services.  I understand that most of them went to school for 8+ years, but charging $180 for a 5 minute office visit or $1,000 for ONE shot in the emergency room is just plain robbery.
715306
It is not free.  That's one reason why TAXES are so much HIGHER in Canada than the US.\n\nMany other countries such as Sweden have universal health care, too.
759240
Allright, I'll be the first to talk about A and D, since the first few people didn't, and they are very important.\n\nA is important because the planet will be around long after we die. The planet can be a good home for millions of years, but if we make it a less good home, we are leaving our species with a less ideal world. It might take a hundred years for a single decade of damage to be reversed.\n\nD is a problem because health care costs are rising rapidly with no sign of slowing, and the number of people who need health care is also going to increase when our people get old. They will probably expect younger people to help them rather than living on their retirement funds, and this large expense could stifle the economy. If we want to provide the latest health care to everyone who needs it, there must be some way to control the costs or else we need to have everyone work hard to support this large portion of our GDP that often involves lengthening the lives of those who no longer add much to the economy. We have lots of health sevices that we have invented for our people, but it will be expensive to pay for all of them.
209949
By having all these government programs, people become more\nand more dependent on the government doing everything for them instead of being self-sufficient. You wouldn't have so\nmany people who abuse these programs which is costing all of us a great deal of money (thru taxes and medical costs).
416962
In 2003, health care spending in the United States reached $1.7 trillion, and was projected to reach $1.8 trillion in 2004. \n\nHealth care spending is 4.3 times the amount spent on national defense. \n\nIn 2003, the United States spent 15.3 percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on health care. It is projected that the percentage will reach 18.7 percent in 10 years. \n\nAlthough nearly 45 million Americans are uninsured, the United States spends more on health care than other industrialized nations, and those countries provide health insurance to all their citizens. \n\nHealth care spending accounted for 10.9 percent of the GDP in Switzerland, 10.7 percent in Germany, 9.7 percent in Canada and 9.5 percent in France, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. \n\nTotal out-of-pocket spending on health care rose $13.7 billion, to $230 billion in 2003.
160139
Well, I wouldn't say that we aren't getting cared for, but I see your point. The U.S. government gets into other countries' business a lot. They throw millions of bucks into these causes without asking. They think they are doing good, which they could be doing. But what if they MADE SURE we were O.K. first, and THEN got OUR support on the project? Easier and better solution.
88399
nope, not a long as they can hold down the poor with outrageous prices. That and its one way of comiting legal genocide. See if you get sick in this country and you can't afford the OUTRAGEOUS health insurance premiums chances are you make too much to get public assistance. By the time you do qualify? The cancer or what ever it is thats killing you will be too far advanced to do anything about.I have asthma. I can't even buy health insurance, life insurance or any other kind of insurance..and as you may have guessed ...I can't afford the medicines I need either. I am but one of millions with this problem.. Until we do something about our current government structure.. NOTHING will change. The rich will become richer the poverty stricken will starve and the middle class?.. well they slipped below the poverty line years ago. They just set things up so that you make one or two dollars too much to qualify for assistance yet can't afford health insurnace. MEAN time? they pump billions of dolars into forein counties that hate us..bolstering their programs while Americans do without!
743340
Socialized medicine, like all forms of socialism, has been a world-wide failure. As people throughout the world from the Soviet Union to South America are learning, socialism cannot work. Socialism is fundamentally incompatible with human nature. \n\nHorrible Idea, we do not need another entitlement program in our country.  Would you like to be in a line for a kidney or a liver and never get one?  How about having innovation limited by promoting the status quo and mediocrity?  Don't fall for utopian ideals which are not achievable.\n\n"Throughout the world the story is the same: socialized medicine results in skyrocketing demand for nominally "free" health care, doctors are overburdened, medical services steadily deteriorate, and there are endless waiting lists for health care. In the Soviet Union before the collapse of Communism, anesthetics, painkillers, and most drugs were rationed; 57 percent of hospitals had no hot running water; and it was standard practice to clean needles with steel wool and reuse them.  In New Zealand, which has a population of just 3 million, there is a waiting list of 50,000 for surgery."\n\nMedicare and Medicaid are imposing horrendous costs upon American taxpayers. There is no free lunch. When health care is "free" (i.e., indirectly financed by taxation), there is little incentive for either patients or doctors to minimize costs. Government-guarantee medical services raise prices and costs, result in massive waste, and create a bureaucracy in a futile attempt to control costs. \n\nGovernment should get out of the medical insurance business. We will get far better value for our health care dollars if we spend them directly ourselves. \n\nI surely do not want this to happen here in the USA, and you shouldn't either!!  Please read the links.  Educate yourself and others about the truth!!
480478
No because there should be a right to free medical care (as in the British Health Service) and to free education throughout life (Life-Long Learning).\n\nWhat bothers me is that some people have to pay, when it should be free for everyone as of right in a civilised society.