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On one hand I totally applaud this effort by any country. On the other hand, my 2015 trip to India was enlightening. Culture shock is an understatement, and I’m

On one hand I totally applaud this effort by any country. On the other hand, my 2015 trip to India was enlightening. Culture shock is an understatement, and I’m not referring to the differences in food and tradition. The poverty was mind blowing. Growing up in some projects in Nashville and going to school because school lunch was the only meal I’d get, I thought I knew what poverty was. I remember coming back still somewhat shocked and thinking how trivial many of the issues are in the US that our politicians have spun up that now Americans are so divided over. I’m not saying India shouldn’t invest in space missions. Pushing the boundary of knowledge is a good thing. I just can’t help and wonder if they should be solving these terrestrial problems first, just from what I saw there, even though I know solving those problems and going to space are not mutually exclusive.

spikefromspace 8y ago
I feel like this argument is brought up every time Indian government invests in anything. My two cents below with the full disclaimer that I have been fortunate enough to evade poverty most of my life. I am not saying that the poverty issue and the sheer scale of it, as you mentioned, shouldn't be a top priority but it can't be the only priority. I am from India but have lived in the US most of my life and have to say that looking at both countries, unbounded welfare spending does not seem to solve the issue of poverty and we can't possibly expect that to work against a growing population. It may mitigate the scale of it in the short run but in the long run, investing in the economy seems to be a better way of reducing poverty. I can't comment much to the merits of doing a manned mission vs other types of space missions but science investment vs poverty is not a great way for any government to prioritize spending. For me, balanced spending is the way to go.
- throwaway98121 8y ago
  I’m not in a position of a policy maker, but if I was, I would certainly give more weight to the social and cleanliness issues over space exploration. Again, I don’t know the specifics of what the Indian government is doing or their particular budget, but having lived in poverty (no where as bad as in India), I want to make sure people are fed, have access to education, and especially so for children. Like I said - the two are not mutually exclusive. When you use the phrase unbounded welfare spending - I think ensuring kids are fed, have access to schools, and live in a non hazardous environment is key. Your use of that term sounds very generic to me, and I want to highlight there is far more nuance. Unbounded welfare spending sounds like something I would hear on Fox News, and so I take issue with that phrase.
  - spikefromspace 8y ago
    >> When you use the phrase unbounded welfare spending - I think ensuring kids are fed, have access to schools, and live in a non hazardous environment is key. Your use of that term sounds very generic to me, and I want to highlight there is far more nuance. Unbounded welfare spending sounds like something I would hear on Fox News, and so I take issue with that phrase. I didn't think of the negative connotation of that phrase so thanks for calling that out. I primarily meant that welfare spending should be sustainable. If welfare spending continues to grow as a % of revenue, then it could lead to excessive deficit and debt which can be bad in the long run. Its my personal point of view that balancing welfare spending with things like infrastructure/tech/science/education and ensuring those opportunities reach the less fortunate is a way of keeping it sustainable.
    - throwaway98121 8y ago
      Yeah that makes sense. Agreed.
lern_too_spel 8y ago
The air and water in every city is hazardous, the abject poverty is in your face, and poor hygiene and resulting disease is rampant with a corresponding overuse of antibiotics. Your assessment is an understatement of how bad the human condition on the subcontinent is. For poor countries like India, one of the primary reasons to invest in large scientific programs like this is to combat brain drain. There is a lot of spending on IITs where much of the benefit goes abroad. I agree that's a small problem relative to India's other problems, and there would be much higher benefit to India and the world if India's research institutions had more funding on investigating solutions to poverty and corruption, where India would be one of the premier places to work in the field.

spikefromspace 8y ago

I feel like this argument is brought up every time Indian government invests in anything. My two cents below with the full disclaimer that I have been fortunate enough to evade poverty most of my life. I am not saying that the poverty issue and the sheer scale of it, as you mentioned, shouldn't be a top priority but it can't be the only priority. I am from India but have lived in the US most of my life and have to say that looking at both countries, unbounded welfare spending does not seem to solve the issue of poverty and we can't possibly expect that to work against a growing population. It may mitigate the scale of it in the short run but in the long run, investing in the economy seems to be a better way of reducing poverty. I can't comment much to the merits of doing a manned mission vs other types of space missions but science investment vs poverty is not a great way for any government to prioritize spending. For me, balanced spending is the way to go.

throwaway98121 8y ago
I’m not in a position of a policy maker, but if I was, I would certainly give more weight to the social and cleanliness issues over space exploration. Again, I don’t know the specifics of what the Indian government is doing or their particular budget, but having lived in poverty (no where as bad as in India), I want to make sure people are fed, have access to education, and especially so for children. Like I said - the two are not mutually exclusive. When you use the phrase unbounded welfare spending - I think ensuring kids are fed, have access to schools, and live in a non hazardous environment is key. Your use of that term sounds very generic to me, and I want to highlight there is far more nuance. Unbounded welfare spending sounds like something I would hear on Fox News, and so I take issue with that phrase.
- spikefromspace 8y ago
  >> When you use the phrase unbounded welfare spending - I think ensuring kids are fed, have access to schools, and live in a non hazardous environment is key. Your use of that term sounds very generic to me, and I want to highlight there is far more nuance. Unbounded welfare spending sounds like something I would hear on Fox News, and so I take issue with that phrase. I didn't think of the negative connotation of that phrase so thanks for calling that out. I primarily meant that welfare spending should be sustainable. If welfare spending continues to grow as a % of revenue, then it could lead to excessive deficit and debt which can be bad in the long run. Its my personal point of view that balancing welfare spending with things like infrastructure/tech/science/education and ensuring those opportunities reach the less fortunate is a way of keeping it sustainable.
  - throwaway98121 8y ago
    Yeah that makes sense. Agreed.

lern_too_spel 8y ago

The air and water in every city is hazardous, the abject poverty is in your face, and poor hygiene and resulting disease is rampant with a corresponding overuse of antibiotics. Your assessment is an understatement of how bad the human condition on the subcontinent is. For poor countries like India, one of the primary reasons to invest in large scientific programs like this is to combat brain drain. There is a lot of spending on IITs where much of the benefit goes abroad. I agree that's a small problem relative to India's other problems, and there would be much higher benefit to India and the world if India's research institutions had more funding on investigating solutions to poverty and corruption, where India would be one of the premier places to work in the field.