Kelly McParland: U.S. strives for low-wage job as China sends missions to the moon

[unhappycamper]

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2013/12/16/kelly-mcparland-u-s-strives-for-low-wage-job-as-china-sends-missions-to-the-moon/



Kelly McParland: U.S. strives for low-wage job as China sends missions to the moon
Kelly McParland | 16/12/13 1:29 PM ET

Some sort of re-ordering is definitely going on in the universe. We probably already knew that, but the juxtaposition of two recent events brings it home in a stark way.

On the weekend China succeeded in landing on the moon, pulling off the first soft landing of a space vehicle in almost 40 years. The Chang-3 touched down safely on Saturday, and released a 140-km six-wheeled rover named Jade Rabbit to begin rolling around the lunar surface, sending back high-definition images.

The U.S., meanwhile has launched into a debate over minimum wages, and whether raising the current minimum from $7.25 would damage the recovery now gathering speed. When Beijing is watching a lunar landing and Washington is worrying about hurting its status as a low-wage employer, you know something is screwy somewhere.

~snip~

But another reason for the U.S. shift is cost. NASA no longer has carte blanche to spend on whatever astronautical adventures might engage its enthusiasm; a CNN report on Saturday suggests one of its flagship missions, the Cassini mission to Saturn, could have its budget cut by half in 2014, and another 50% the next year. China, on the other hand is still willing to pour money into missions that help establish it as a serious player in the space business. In the military field, it would like to build an aircraft carrier for the same reason.