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NASA's biggest worry right now: What if something goes wrong with the Webb telescope?
Chris.B:
How does an impoverished country, so deeply in debt, like the USA, manage such costly exercises? Impoverished? Really? I should get out more. The U.S. is an expensive country to maintain; it requires--and has--the world's most extensive and deepest infrastructure *by far*. In WW II both Germany and Japan fatally underestimated our infrastructure by a huge factor and, apparently, failed to understand that it was invulnerable to their military forces. Let's compare the U.S. to a small country chosen at random. Denmark, for example. The U.S. has 77 times as many motorway miles as Denmark. Public debt in the U.S. is $57,000 per capita, 98% of GDP. In Denmark it is $86,000 per capita, 163% of GDP. Who has the debt? Luxembourg, said to be the "wealthiest of all countries," has a public debt amounting to nearly $7 million per capita. Wealthy Germany has 1/10 the motorways the U.S. has, and public debt is 148% of GDP. Other countries with per capita public debt exceeding that of the U.S. include the UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Ireland, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Australia, Singapore, Belgium, Sweden, Austria, Norway (twice that of the U.S.); Finland; Qatar; Malta; Iceland... -- I agree with almost everything that you have said and almost everything that you will say in your entire life. usenet *at* davidillig dawt cawm |
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NASA's biggest worry right now: What if something goes wrong with the Webb telescope?
On Tue, 13 Feb 2018 19:06:34 -0500, Davoud wrote:
Chris.B: How does an impoverished country, so deeply in debt, like the USA, manage such costly exercises? Impoverished? Really? I should get out more. The U.S. is an expensive country to maintain; it requires--and has--the world's most extensive and deepest infrastructure *by far*. In WW II both Germany and Japan fatally underestimated our infrastructure by a huge factor and, apparently, failed to understand that it was invulnerable to their military forces. Let's compare the U.S. to a small country chosen at random. Denmark, for example. The U.S. has 77 times as many motorway miles as Denmark. Public debt in the U.S. is $57,000 per capita, 98% of GDP. In Denmark it is $86,000 per capita, 163% of GDP. Who has the debt? Luxembourg, said to be the "wealthiest of all countries," has a public debt amounting to nearly $7 million per capita. Wealthy Germany has 1/10 the motorways the U.S. has, and public debt is 148% of GDP. Other countries with per capita public debt exceeding that of the U.S. include the UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Ireland, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Australia, Singapore, Belgium, Sweden, Austria, Norway (twice that of the U.S.); Finland; Qatar; Malta; Iceland... You took the wheels off that truck... -- Email address is a Spam trap. |
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NASA's biggest worry right now: What if something goes wrongwith the Webb telescope?
On Wednesday, 14 February 2018 08:13:50 UTC+1, Bill wrote:
On Tue, 13 Feb 2018 19:06:34 -0500, Davoud wrote: Chris.B: How does an impoverished country, so deeply in debt, like the USA, manage such costly exercises? Impoverished? Really? I should get out more. The U.S. is an expensive country to maintain; it requires--and has--the world's most extensive and deepest infrastructure *by far*. In WW II both Germany and Japan fatally underestimated our infrastructure by a huge factor and, apparently, failed to understand that it was invulnerable to their military forces. Let's compare the U.S. to a small country chosen at random. Denmark, for example. The U.S. has 77 times as many motorway miles as Denmark. Public debt in the U.S. is $57,000 per capita, 98% of GDP. In Denmark it is $86,000 per capita, 163% of GDP. Who has the debt? Luxembourg, said to be the "wealthiest of all countries," has a public debt amounting to nearly $7 million per capita. Wealthy Germany has 1/10 the motorways the U.S. has, and public debt is 148% of GDP. Other countries with per capita public debt exceeding that of the U.S. include the UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Ireland, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Australia, Singapore, Belgium, Sweden, Austria, Norway (twice that of the U.S.); Finland; Qatar; Malta; Iceland... You took the wheels off that truck... Using motorway mileage as a measure of success seems pointless since it relates far more to land area rather than population. The sheer scale of America continues to astonish outsiders. A more fitting measure might be the success of public transport to attract customers as a percentage of population.. The debt per member of population does not accurately relate to the sheer size of that debt. Debt assumes repayment and/or massive interest rates. Is there a parallel universe where taxpayers are repaying this world's debts? |
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NASA's biggest worry right now: What if something goes wrong with the Webb telescope?
Chris.B:
How does an impoverished country, so deeply in debt, like the USA, manage such costly exercises? Davoud: Impoverished? Really? I should get out more. The U.S. is an expensive country to maintain; it requires--and has--the world's most extensive and deepest infrastructure *by far*. In WW II both Germany and Japan fatally underestimated our infrastructure by a huge factor and, apparently, failed to understand that it was invulnerable to their military forces. Let's compare the U.S. to a small country chosen at random. Denmark, for example. The U.S. has 77 times as many motorway miles as Denmark. Public debt in the U.S. is $57,000 per capita, 98% of GDP. In Denmark it is $86,000 per capita, 163% of GDP. Who has the debt? Luxembourg, said to be the "wealthiest of all countries," has a public debt amounting to nearly $7 million per capita. Wealthy Germany has 1/10 the motorways the U.S. has, and public debt is 148% of GDP. Other countries with per capita public debt exceeding that of the U.S. include the UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Ireland, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Australia, Singapore, Belgium, Sweden, Austria, Norway (twice that of the U.S.); Finland; Qatar; Malta; Iceland... Bill: You took the wheels off that truck... Chris.B: Using motorway mileage as a measure of success seems pointless since it relates far more to land area rather than population. The sheer scale of America continues to astonish outsiders. A more fitting measure might be the success of public transport to attract customers as a percentage of population. Size matters very much. Consider public transport (ground transport, that is). At a glance, it's not all that great in the U.S. (outside of urban areas) compared to, say, Denmark. But a bus or train trip across Denmark is no more than 350km. Across the U.S. it's 5200km. You can ride the bus from Allagash, Maine, to San Diego, California, but such a trip is not anyone's measure of success. Best you fly. Even then it will take you more than eight hours (1 stop), which is more than twice the time it takes to drive the length of Denmark. My point is that we're talking apples and oranges; it's difficult to compare very dissimilar entities. The debt per member of population does not accurately relate to the sheer size of that debt. Debt assumes repayment and/or massive interest rates. Is there a parallel universe where taxpayers are repaying this world's debts? Debt is relative and per capita debt is one way of flattening the field and putting debt into perspective. It may not be meaningful to say that the average American owes $57k in public debt while the average Dane owes $86k, but it is an accurate statistic. Speaking of ground transportation, my impoverished self just bought a new Prius Four Touring (cash, no loans) to replace my 2006 Prius, which gets recycled to my niece. -- I agree with almost everything that you have said and almost everything that you will say in your entire life. usenet *at* davidillig dawt cawm |
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NASA's biggest worry right now: What if something goes wrong with the Webb telescope?
On Thu, 15 Feb 2018 13:03:38 -0500, Davoud wrote:
Speaking of ground transportation, my impoverished self just bought a new Prius Four Touring (cash, no loans) to replace my 2006 Prius, which gets recycled to my niece. Nice. We're still hanging on to our semi-ancient cars in the hopes that a suitable electric vehicle for our needs will materialize soon. Maybe before my own car finishes its return trip from the Moon (it's about a quarter of the way back now). |
#6
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NASA's biggest worry right now: What if something goes wrong with the Webb telescope?
Davoud:
Speaking of ground transportation, my impoverished self just bought a new Prius Four Touring (cash, no loans) to replace my 2006 Prius, which gets recycled to my niece. Chris L Peterson: Nice. We're still hanging on to our semi-ancient cars in the hopes that a suitable electric vehicle for our needs will materialize soon. Maybe before my own car finishes its return trip from the Moon (it's about a quarter of the way back now). You beat Elon Musk to the punch and sent a car around the Moon!? Since you brought it up, here's the rest of my story, quoted from a post I made in another forum: **** "I spent a month studying the feasibility of buying an EV with a view toward buying a Tesla Model S. "I drove two cars, talked to several owners, visited the showroom in Owings Mills, MD, joined and studied the forum at tesla.com, etc. Wonderful car in many ways. "But I noticed something about a very substantial number of Tesla owners. They are sufficiently wealthy that their Teslas are a hobby item, one of a number of luxury cars they own. I have owned a number of hobby cars over the years, and they mostly became burdensome after a while. For some, their Tesla hobby includes making long trips, well beyond the battery range. Such a trip requires careful planning and considerable patience, and even then may go wrong and engender considerable inconvenience. All part of the adventure, I am told. "So I took a negative approach to the car in order to balance my fever to own it. It's got the quality and it would surely be fun to own in many ways. What can't it do that I need a car to do? Well, it turns out that the trip my wife and I made from our home near Annapolis to see and photograph the 2017 eclipse in Tennessee would have been impossible in a Tesla. A round-trip from our home to my hometown in rural SW Pa. would be impossible; there is no charging infrastructure there. A round-trip to visit family in rural NW N.J. would be impractical or impossible for the same reason. That has the Tesla making trips to the mall and supermarket and to other places where one might hope to impress people (except that Teslas are by now a bit too numerous in my area to make people ooh and aah). Tesla owners charge their cars at home 90% of the time. "I looked at the Chevy Bolt. Pretty impressive technology, to be sure, but a cramped interior that appears to be made of thrift-store materials and no navigation system available. "So, no EV for me until two things happen: a breakthrough in battery technology and a significant increase in charging infrastructure. I'm replacing my 2006 Prius with a 2018 model this very day (and giving the 2006 to my city-dwelling niece). And I have a new-generation Lexus RX that proved to be a very comfortable and competent long-distance hauler of astronomical equipment on our trip to Tennessee." **** Good luck to you and to me. I fear that I was born too soon to benefit much from the coming revolution in EVs. If they arrive in my lifetime I'll probably already be driving the latest in electric wheelchair tech. -- I agree with almost everything that you have said and almost everything that you will say in your entire life. usenet *at* davidillig dawt cawm |
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