Yea, seems pretty loose to assume those dollars would have generated three times the economic impact of the space program if they'd been left in individuals han

Yea, seems pretty loose to assume those dollars would have generated three times the economic impact of the space program if they'd been left in individuals hands. Companies certainly innovate, but the government innovates a _lot_ (primarily through research grants which are eventually developed into products by entrepreneurs as far as I can tell, also the military).