Thread by @CDChambers62

Trump’s proposed “Space Force” is a necessary step in projecting the United States into space, not only as a military endeavor, but to push for a change in the short term mentality the US ‘suffers’ as a consequence of our capitalist structure.

Capitalism has lifted more people out of poverty than any other economic system in history. Socialists and Communists hate it because it offers people freedom. But with that freedom comes responsibility.

Government and private companies must be solid financial planners, projecting their budgets accurately, forecasting trends, and meeting their goals. Most of these goals are very short term, one of the biggest downsides of Capitalism: a lack of future vision.

Governments and companies typically only plan their budget once per year. Most use the calendar year. Some, like the US government, use a fiscal year starting October 1st and ending September 30th. senate.gov/reference/glos…

Aside: The US Government used to use July 1st to June 30th, but the appropriations process was too slow to be completed in time, especially when a new President was elected in November, so the FY was pushed to October/September in 1976. blog-pfm.imf.org/pfmblog/2016/1…

Understandably, the US typically focuses on things one year into the future, as the funding for future endeavors is only secure for the next year. Two at the most. Most private companies also run a one year budget cycle...

…as do publicly traded companies, which report their results each year in their ‘Annual Report’ as required by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Find your favorite company here and see how they did. annualreports.com

This is the Capitalist way. It works great! It holds companies and their leaders accountable for fiscal results. You may have learned over the years this accountability does NOT happen in government. If it does, please post a comment. I do not expect many comments here.

But, there is a major drawback to the short term planning. Funding can be withdrawn, administrations and their priorities can change, people pushing specific funding for projects may die, or outside influences may cause problems.

Some countries have very long term plans. China, for example, has a 100 year plan to dominate the world. gunnewsdaily.com/decoding-china…

A key element in China’s 100 year plan is the “One Belt One Road” (OBOR) plan to dominate global commerce on land and sea. (The ‘Belt’ is the land component, the ‘Road’ component is the Silk Road sea lane.) thediplomat.com/2018/04/the-ri…

China has been using their 100 year plan for decades, expanding into Africa to monopolize ‘rare Earth minerals’. OBOR is an element of the larger plan to dominate the global economy. seeker.com/tech/materials…

…building a space tracking satellite in Argentina… thediplomat.com/2016/05/china-…

…and has completed the construction of the world’s largest radio telescope in Guizhou Province, China.
phys.org/news/2016-07-c…

This might not be alarming to most people until they learn China has already successfully shot down an orbital satellite back in 2007. What? Yes indeed. China can knock the US into the Stone Age by taking out our satellites. businessinsider.com/space-race-ant…

Russia is onboard with anti-satellite technology as well. And that is not surprising, as most global powers create the tech and have become completely dependent on it. Other countries use the tech, and we would all be crippled without it. popularmechanics.com/military/weapo…

The US has not been idle, as we have had the USAF X37-B in operation for several years. In March of 2017 the X37-B landed in Florida after a 718 day mission. Yes, 718 days in orbit!! Do you think the Air Force got some good data in that two years? I do! space.com/36420-x-37b-sp…

The X37-B is tiny. Really tiny. It is too small for a pilot and is unmanned. Good thing too! After 718 days alone in space any astronaut would go nuts. Look at the scale of it here.

The X37-B, looking very much like a miniature Space Shuttle, is operated by the US Air Force. Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson discusses the practicality of spinning off the Space Force, like the Army did with the Air Force in the 40s.

So the media can make fun of Trump’s Space Force proposal if they want. Some memes are actually pretty witty and funny, as seen here. Generally negative, but entertaining, with a grain of salt.

Supporters are also encouraging the Space Force. Timothy Lim and Brett Smith @potusthump @BrettRSmith76 are putting together a comic on Indiegogo, linked here. Support them here! indiegogo.com/projects/trump…

General ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis is now behind the Space Force, although press reports say he may not be behind a separate branch of the military in part due to funding issues. That is a real concern. thehill.com/policy/defense…

And Vice President Mike Pence gave a speech in support of the Space Force, detailing a four-step plan for its implementation. Rumors swirl the military is against it, but Trump, Pence and Mattis think it’s a good idea. So do I. cnbc.com/2018/08/09/pen…

But you can see a problem here. Everyone is publicly focused on funding, arguing the Space Force will create a new bureaucracy (true), with new costs (true), and it is unnecessary (false IMO).

If the United States faced certain doom by getting hit by a huge asteroid in 20 years, would we be at all worried about funding? Absolutely not! We would do whatever we must to survive! If our satellites were blown out of space, would that not be a national catastrophe?

The real fight will be over control of the new branch of the military. Will NASA control it? Will it be subordinate to the Air Force (the USMC is a Dept. of the Navy 'DON' asset). Will it be independent? Expect these battles to be public, played out in the press & in Congress.

Whatever form the Space Force takes, it is required we change the way we think of our future, our long term plan as a nation, and the way we fund long-term projects in the future. Choose a logo!!

We have done it before. Reconstruction, Railroads’ race to the West, the Depression Era work projects, and even the Space Race (we lost the satellite phase, but won the Moon phase). newsweek.com/russia-space-6…

All of us that support Capitalism must learn to think longer term than this last month’s employment numbers, this quarter’s earnings, or next year’s profits. We need a long term plan. A 100 year plan. Trump is a visionary. wired.com/2017/01/future…

He knows we need to prepare to defend America's interests in space. He knows who the competition is. He knows what their capabilities are. Even North Korea has a satellite in space. Can you believe that? Many possible opponents! Here's real-time tracking. n2yo.com/?s=39026

There is a ton of space junk circling the Earth. The US, and many other countries, track most of it. What is a threat? What is junk? Which pieces of junk will fall from the sky? We really must know these answers. popsci.com/now-you-can-se…

In order to keep the funding, we really need a #RedTsunami to allow the Trump/Pence Administration to build a strong American future. Capitalism is the engine, and it works better than any engine in history. But we need to pave the way for 100 years.

/End brookings.edu/research/trump…

Hey Mr. @threadreaderapp ! Could you unroll please? Thanks a ton!

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher supports the creation of the Space Force, and cites the Coast Guards distinctly different duties and responsibilities compared to the US Navy. The requested start-up budget for the Space Force is $8 billion.

White House statement on the establishment of the Space Force. whitehouse.gov/briefings-stat…

The Department of Defense website shows the "Unified Combatant Commands". The Space Force would be tasked with "establishing the United States Space Command, a unified combatant command, to improve, evolve, and plan space warfighting." defense.gov