Does Obama's $18 billion education proposal (by taking it away from Space Exploration) influence your vote?

Question

JP215.. I had my car stolen from a Katrina evacuee, b******s. I live in Southern Louisiana. I have family in Houma, New Orleans, Grand Isle, you name it, so I understand the importance of the issuses you speak of. But I find it mind blowing, the thought putting a hex on the space program to be, I mean we are already so behind then where we should be.

Answer 1

I am ALL for it.  Anyone that has children knows that our schools are severely lacking in so many ways.  The children are our future.  Many people move to very expensive areas to make sure that their children receive a good education because most public schools do not receive enough to keep even the basic activities and resources available, let alone anything extra.  Some schools don't have computers! So, if we can afford to move to an area that receives enough money from parents to fund afterschool programs, computers and such, we are paying through our nose for our houses, etc.... If I move 6 blocks away and my child goes to a different school, my house will cost $150k less, however the school is not nearly as good.  Some people don't have the option to do that, and that is not fair either. A good education should be a standard and available to EVERYONE, regardless of your zip code.  Teachers are having to come out of their pockets to make sure that every day activities are not cut out.. and for those of you that don't know what a teacher's salary is, it is MUCH LOWER than most salaries, especially when you consider the amount of time they spend with our children.  Members of the military and teachers are the two most underpaid members of society when they should be the two top paid. Teachers help shape our children, and military members (AND THEIR FAMILIES) put their lives on the line, and what do they get in return, a struggle to pay the bills every month.  Instead of them being paid what they deserve, we're paying NBA, NFL & MLB players millions (and don't forget the big-wigs at all the major corporations that get multi-million dollar Christmas bonuses)...Sorry, off on another tangent there :)

I would rather see the money be put into our children's future than the possibility of finding another planet or another star. What good is finding another planet/star/etc, if our children don't have the education/ability to read (about it)? Yes, I know, I am reducing space exploration to a small part of what it is about, but there are other, more efficient ways to learn about the universe if we are open to them.  I won't go into what that is, but there are other ways, let's leave it at that.  Our children are more important than the possibility of maybe finding something. Our priorities are all wrong.  I say way to go Obama-way to put them back into focus.

Answer 2

He never had it, and darn sure won't get it now.

Answer 3

Like other people have responded, Obama wouldn't have gotten my vote anyway.  It is unusual for me to vote for a major party candidate, and I have never voted for one in a presidential election.  However, this really is a double whammy for me.  I think the school systems are overfunded, and need to rebudget to do more with what they have.  They have so much money they waste it on nonessientals, then complain they don't have money for basics.  We waste money on programs teaching things that should be taught in the home (life skills, family health) and have high school students that can barely read.  On the other side of this equation, I believe America is in the trouble it is in now because we have cut back on research and development, and that is why we are falling behind the rest of the world in so many categories.  Our economy is now predominantly service based as opposed to production.  Additionally, space exploration is an absolute necessity.  The earth has limited resources.  No matter how much we conserve or how well we steward our planet, eventually the human race will need to branch off into other planets.  The earlier we begin this process the better.  How often do people complain about the government not responding to something until it is a crisis?  Now, many are trying to stop them from being proactive on what will eventually be the biggest crisis to ever face the human species.

Answer 4

Not really. No matter what he says, I won't vote for him. Don't like McCain either.

Answer 5

I'm torn here. I'm a huge fan of space exploration, but on the other hand, our nation is going into the toilet partially because kids are dropping out and not getting the education they need to make it in life as honest citizens. I need to give this some more thought. Right now it's not really influencing my opinion on Obama.

Answer 6

Firstly, let me just say this. I am a 15 year old Canadian citizen who is frankly shocked at this plan. Although I believe in Obama and his campaign, I completely disagree with this idea. N.A.S.A  already has the smallest budget out of all the U.S government departments. Its annual budget is around 17 billion dollars. Now that might seem like a lot of money, but out of the 2.9 TRILLION dollars in the U.S annual budget it amounts to about 0.6% and even with 17 billion dollars running the space program, it still isn't enough. The most recent space rovers, Spirit and Opportunity almost were shut off because the 4 million dollars was cut from the 20 million dollar budget for the rovers. If 18 billion were cut from space exploration not only would the LONGEST LASTING mars rovers be put out of commision but the ENTIRE SPACE PROGRAM AS WELL!!!



With regards to WisdomeinLight's answer, I respectfully disagree. The science programs and space camps which NASA offers are a great educational experience. If we don't continue to look for other planets and stars what new information can we add to the textbooks and journals which highschool students and elementary students read to LEARN!

I know that taking away funding from the space program is a very bad political decission on Obama's part. What he should be doing is tring to find ways to cut back on the 604 BILLION dollars spent on the Iraq wars. I mean stop killing people, bring your men back home, and put that money to good use!

That's my viewpoint and if you don't like it then too bad.

Answer 7

No I wouldn't vote for him anyway.Don't worry,politicians rarely keep campaign promises.I have to laugh at folks that don't like the space program.I guess they don't use cell phones,GPS,satellite TV or any of the other great technologies it's brought us.

Answer 8

honestly who cares about space exploration right now when we can't even deal w. the issues in our own country.

i.e. new orleans hurricane katrina, the recent mississippi river flooding, wildfires etc. etc.

i'm not sure what his edu proposal was but sh*t i just graduated from college so i am prolly interested in it. so your question intrigues me.