Like a Virgin

So, if Governor Richardson's plea to the NM Legislature for $100 million in starter money is approved, you and I will be building a spiffy new "spaceport" just south of Truth or Consequences, the community named for a popular 1950s TV show. Other local and federal tax receipts will be sought to cover the rest of the $225 million price tag for public financing, including a proposed gross receipts tax increase for Southern New Mexico. Virgin Galactic, zoom zoom! Space rides for rich people at $200,000 a pop!

What a deal. The people who benefit most from BushCo's tax cuts can use the tax dollars they didn't pay to buy tickets to the stratosphere. Most of the costs of this super ride facility will be covered by those unfortunate enough to still be paying significant taxes -- namely, those who work for a living rather than invest for living.

Ah, to be one of those wealthy, elite figures who focus so relentlessly on figuring out ways to lessen their own taxes so that others lower on the financial scale can pay them AND pay for their capitalistic, futuristic, profit-making schemes! Does it get any better than this? Make the public pay the project investment costs while the billionaire developers reap the profits. Slick.

Ah, you say, what about all those high-paying jobs that will be created in the process? According to Information Week:

Experts predict the project will bring into New Mexico thousands of jobs in technology and construction and hundreds of millions of dollars of private investment during the next 20 years as the private sector develops new commercial markets in the space industry.

A study by Futron, an aerospace industry consulting firm, reveals the annual economic impact of the spaceport in 2020 could exceed more than $750 million in revenue and more than 3,500 jobs for manufacturing, research and development, transportation services and tourism.

Maybe. It's certainly a nice thought. But if this is such a great idea, why can't the private sector make the investment in infrastructure on its own? Why do they need "encouragement" from taxpayers in one of the poorest states in the nation?

I admit the pioneering part of me that was thrilled by President Kennedy's race to the moon and the Hubble telescope can still be seduced by the excitement of outer space exploration. But space rides for rich people? Hard to get behind that pricey concept when pesky facts like the growing number of New Mexicans without health insurance keep rising to the surface. Whatever happened to first things first? Bottom line: it's a matter of priorities. Shouldn't Democrats be pushing harder to mitigate the festering problems of economic and social injustice before they start bankrolling the iffy projects of billionaires?

Maybe the Governor is right. Maybe this will be the start of something that will bring incredible opportunities and thousands of good-paying jobs to New Mexico. As we know, Governor Richardson thinks big, and often that's what's needed to get things moving in a state like New Mexico. And there is a certain logic to adding space rides to the balloon rides we're so famous for. Given the nasty behavior of way too many private sector operators, however, I can't help being a little cynical about all this. What about you?