Smithsonian Using Kickstart Campaign To Save Armstrong's Moon Suit

qpgmr writes: The Smithsonian is appealing for assistance to raise enough money to preserve Neil Armstrong's moon suit. The "Reboot the Suit: Bring Back Neil Armstrong's Spacesuit" campaign launched Monday on Kickstarter, marking 46 years since Armstrong's moonwalk in 1969. Smithsonian reports: "....on the anniversary of that 'small step for a man,' the Smithsonian Institution announced a plan of action that is, in its own way, a giant leap for funding the job with what the Institution’s first federal Kickstarter campaign. With a goal of raising $500,000 in 30 days—by offering incentives such as exclusive updates to 3D printed facsimiles of the space suit gloves—museum officials hope to be able to unveil a restored spacesuit by the time of the 50th anniversary of the moon landing four years from now, in 2019."

Comments

Re:$805M budget

[Karmashock]

First, you had better sound pretty fucking clever by the time I'm done reading your post or I'm going to jam the aforementioned shotgun your ass.
https://youtu.be/F1SfzV67Bqw?t... ... sigh...

First, the hospitals do not bid rates generally. They only tell the insurance companies what their price lists are and that is the only place those prices are really negotiated. Lots of things are inelastic while also being subject to market forces. Food is a good example. Just because you need to eat doesn't mean you're going to buy food from just anyone. You know what the prices are of most retailers or have a reasonable estimation. And based on that and with general market competition you can control costs by shifting from different sellers.

If I needed a certain type of treatment... not right now... but in a week or two... I'd have time to shop around. And the medical system could offer rates just like anything else is offered with rates. The fact that they're not is one of the reasons the market has a hard time controlling costs. Lets say a hospital 400 miles away is willing to do an operation that would cost me 50k where I am for only 25k? Now assuming quality is comparable, I then do a cost benefit analysis where I calculate the cost to me of traveling over there and doing that, possibly staying in a hotel or renting a car, and then compare that against the cost of doing it where I am.

Lets say you need to get a lot work done and you live in New York where it might be expensive. But if you fly to Texas you can get the same thing done with the same quality for much less. Just as an example.

That drives down the price in New York because their high prices are causing customers to go somewhere else. And business being business they need to maintain competitiveness.

This notion you have that medical treatment can't be subjected to conventional market forces is in error.

The only case where you're going to be forced to use the local whatever is going to be if you have a medical emergency. OKAY... in that specific circumstance you've got me. But their business model probably isn't sustainable on nothing but the emergency room. So they have to bring their prices down regardless IF patients are informed of prices.

But they're not. Hospitals are one of a very few set of businesses where they don't even hint at what your costs are going to be until you leave. And even then you might not know for weeks after you left. I got medical bills from a visit two weeks after I actually went to the hospital. They said one number two days after I left... then a week later they give me another number and then two weeks after I had initially gone, I got a third number.

Where did any of that come from ? apparently three separate billing departments from a single hospital.

Think of any business where that would happen outside of an American hospital? There isn't one. No US business works that way except for hospitals and only in America so far as I know.

There are many problems with the cost structure of the US medical industry. But to brush all that off and suggest I'm a hillbilly? I assume this is because I don't goosestep to socialism? You call me a hippy, I'm going to call you a nazi. Suck it. But to say I'm ignorant because I don't share your slavish devotion to your absurd little ideology? You're more a bible thumper than I am sport. Its your dogma you're damning me with.

You're saying I don't worship your book... so I'm in league with the devil. And you call me the hillbilly?

You're a retard.

*jams it up his ass until it goes click*

*rolls eyes*