The OLD Philosopher – John M. Miller
Three American billionaires have decided to enter the enterprise of traversing space. Elon Musk, is determined to put a colony of people on Mars at some point in the future. The two others, Richard Branson of Virgin Galactic and Jeff Bezos of SpaceX, recently took passengers with them for a few exorbitant minutes into sub-orbital space.
For the privilege of being among the initial ordinary mortals to climb aboard the two different types of rockets that penetrated the edge of outer space, the price of admission for the Branson ride was a mere quarter of a million dollars, but the Bezos ride cost 28 million dollars. Both of the billionaires hope to lower the admission fare in the future, so that more people will be able to afford the singular extravagant experience.
Why, you may wonder, would anyone, even multibillionaires, want to go into the space business? And why would mere millionaires want to join them? What is in it for them? An unearthly ego-rush, for one thing. Also, NASA is interested in their progress, especially for their reusable rockets. NASA has not pursued that seemingly sensible idea, and they may decide to purchase multiblasters from the Three Spacecateers.
Furthermore, assuming there are hundreds or thousands of millionaires eager to ace space, the purveyors into the darkness beyond are eager to charge them for the opportunity. There is obviously a limit to the number of earthlings who have the requisite wherewithal to purchase a ticket, but the number of multimillionaires is growing every day, so prospects appear excellent for the space-businessmen.
A gnawing question may arise in the minds of some of us, however. Is it proper for private individuals to try to conquer space in any manner at all? Ought that not to be the purview of national governments or international agencies? Is it right for billionaires to explore the firmament, accompanied by paying passengers?
Well, it has happened, and will again. Thus, supposing that the legitimacy of private space journeys has been duly approved (who knew?), a notion might be inserted into this new entrepreneurial effort. Would it not be acceptable to charge a tax on such travels? After all, we pay taxes to be borne aloft in an airplane or to sail upon the sea in a ship; why not charge a tax for private individuals to ride in a private spacecraft?
Were that to happen, what would a fair tax be? Here’s an idea: Since it is only the very wealthy who can afford to board a Virgin Galactic or Blue Origin flight, why not tax these space spins at the same sum as the actual ticket price? The tax funds then would be used to help meet the shortages of needy people here on weary old Planet Earth. There are far more needy people than there are multimillionaires, and their needs are far more basic than travels into or beyond the stratosphere. Twice the price would be a fair fare.
Thus, in order to escape the surly bonds of earth, private spaceniks would be required to enhance some of the surly bonds from which they choose to escape. If space exploration is going to include private vehicles, a high price should be paid for the privilege of leaving the planet, even if it is only on a temporary basis. If they can afford the ride, they can afford to assist those who will never have the opportunity for such a pleasurable jaunt. - July 30, 2121
John Miller is Pastor of The Chapel Without Walls on Hilton Head Island, SC. More of his writings may be viewed at www.chapelwithoutwalls.org.