Vice-President Pence says he wants the United States to go
back to the moon. “’We will return American astronauts to the moon, not only to
leave behind footprints and flags, but to build the foundation we need to send
Americans to Mars and beyond,’ Pence said.” [1]
This remark, which “drew loud applause,” [2] was made at
the “first meeting of the National Space Council, revived after it was
disbanded in 1993.”
But the Washington Post reports that “details, such as how
much the new ideas will cost, were scant and outside experts said they’ve heard
grandiose plans before only to see them fizzle instead of launch.” And it is
easy to see why it would be so. As President John Kennedy put it, “We choose to
go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are
easy, but because they are hard.” [3]
That was the sort of America that existed in those days: one
that was undaunted by challenge, but was, rather, inspired by it. But some
disillusion has transpired since then. President Kennedy’s remarks were made
before the Watergate scandal and the fall of Saigon. And while we have seen a
resurgence in American bellicosity, we are governed by a party which has as an
operating principle that the federal government should be reduced to the size
where it can be drowned in the bathtub. [4]
On July 21, 1969, the world watched in wonder and amazement
as Neil Armstrong stepped on the Moon for the first time. It was an incredible
achievement, and a source of tremendous national pride. It would be fantastic
to recreate a time like that. But in order to accomplish it, we are going to
have to recreate the conditions that made it possible.
When Apollo 11 landed on the Moon, the top marginal tax rate
in the United States was 77%. [5] Now it’s at
39.6% [6], and the
administration of which Mr. Pence is a member wants to reduce it to 35%. [7]
Although the United States was first to the Moon, we now
have to hitch a ride with the Russians if we want to go to the International
Space Station. [8]
An earlier generation of Americans would have thought that disgraceful, but
nowadays we apparently can bear the shame as long as we can keep taxes low for
the wealthiest among us.
If we want to do great things like go to the Moon, we have
to be willing to pay for it. And we can only pay for it if we are raising
sufficient revenue through our tax system.
