Letter: Make Mars our next ally

Saturday, August 11, 2012

I watched the announcement of the Mars rover landing on CNN, while a large roomful of well-paid NASA scientists jumped up and down and hugged each other. Why don't I feel their excitement?

Our nation is $15 trillion in debt and Congress cannot agree how best to deal with this huge number, so they shut down for five weeks and return home to campaign. Don't they read the newspapers?

Economists warn us that our nation faces a "financial cliff" before year end unless we take immediate action.

Unfortunately, any euphoria I could feel for our success on Mars is instantly extinguished by the huge sum we must have spent getting there.

On the other hand if life does exist there, perhaps we could get them to purchase our Treasury debt in the near future when China declines to do so.

Ralph W. Burke

Vancouver