4 ms·

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

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.

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.