Trump wants NASA out of space station by 2025, businesses in

Infrastructure is boring. Especially to a President and Congress with the attention span of a squirrel.

$100B for 20+ year life of the program?

So, about 45% of the DoD budget for 1 year?

The USA needs a law to cap DoD spending to be no more than the spending from any other highest spending country without a formal war declaration.

$25+T in national debt and still growing every day.

Regardless, I'm a no for privatizing this. Besides captain clueless doesn't seem to comprehend that space exploration at this time is for advancement for HUMANITY as a WHOLE. If we let it become privatized, only the rich can afford it. Have movies taught humanity nothing?! Alien, Avatar, etc etc...

When corporations only do things for profit, humanity gets left behind for the greedy ambition of the select few.

Instead, how about clearing up the space junk first.

@honestd When corporations only do things for profit, humanity gets left behind for the greedy ambition of the select few.

Trump, the GOP and the .01% are pushing the US into full-on corporatocracy. Look at who he's appointed to his cabinet positions. Look who he's surrounding himself with in the White House. Look at their ongoing efforts to sell off public lands. Rollerball (the James Caan version) ahead.

The USA needs a law to cap DoD spending to be no more than the spending from any other highest spending country without a formal war declaration.

$25+T in national debt and still growing every day.

There needs to be a new republican party. One that actually is fiscally responsible.

Typical Republican thinking: Socialize the cost of building something (make the taxpayers pay billions to design it and put it into space), then privatize the profits once it's built so that jerks like Trump can put money in their pockets for something they didn't do.

This makes perfect sense since the White House has already been turned into a commercially run venture.

First undermining the study of climate change, now this... what's next ? Will scientists have to give up their work on the origins of the universe to study creationism ?

Can't see private business enterprise running the International Space Station (ISS). They have no real interest, no purpose and the ROI and profits is not there.

With NASA abandoning the ISS, Russia will take possession and ownership, which is a shame.

Trump is like some really third rate Bond villain. Mind you, perhaps the idea of the US government being put into orbit might gain some traction...

When will this assault and pillaging of our economy under the guise of privatization (which simply means a massive giveaway to the rich) end?

It’s a sad day when Ted Cruz sounds like the voice of reason (selfishly, he is defending his turf as NASA is a big employer in Texas).

"Trump is like some really third rate Bond villain."

Like Moonraker's Drax, right? hahaha

Trump, of course, is right - the private sector is the way to go - ask Elon Musk.

@serrano the private sector is the way to go - ask Elon Musk.

More power to Musk. But did you mean ask Musk about the federal subsidies he's getting? I think it's good, but haven't you called that socialism before?

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hy-musk-subsidies-20150531-story.html

"Driving to the ISS in a Elon Musk Tesla ain't going to work."

zichi, you must be unaware that Elon Musk's company builds rockets, including the biggest in the world.

It is becoming fairly obvious that the future in space will be dominated by non-government entities. I didn’t think that the private sector could pull off the amazing things they have done in recent years. Re-usable components that land back on Earth, the worlds largest rockets, and numerous resupply runs to space station. Governments cannot afford the costs with their large debt and social welfare programs. I am shocked that the US has spent in excess of $100 billion on the space station. Trump is simply acknowledging the obvious.

US National debt is NOT $25T. It was a typo mistake. It is just over $20T now. Sorry for the error.

They privatized the Internet, right? How did that work out?

Who owns the millennium falcon in Star Wars? It’s privately owned isn’t it?

I’m good with this privatization.

Typical Republican thinking: Socialize the cost of building something (make the taxpayers pay billions to design it and put it into space), then privatize the profits once it's built so that jerks like Trump can put money in their pockets for something they didn't do.

Beat me to it. This has been the pattern for the success of businesses in the US for a long time.

. . .

And for those holding up Space X as an example of how corporations can do things better than the govment (spelling error intentional):

But did you mean ask Musk about the federal subsidies he's getting?