You have a valid, albeit spirited, point. Count my $100 bucks in.
Of course, no government in their right, sovereign mind would allow a Mars mission which wasn't under their direct control to proceed for the most obvious of reasons -- it might establish a de facto (international treaties be damned) independent entity that it wasn't able to tax, regulate, or defend itself (ahem, its citizens) against.
So, given that governments of nations are the only sovereign entities on this planet, the only way to get this done is to do what the farmers, trade unions, and big business do -- lobby.
And, to be fair, I've been taxed without my consent to pay for things I find execrable since my first paycheck. I wouldn't mind a little payback in the form of a Mars mission.
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You have a valid, albeit spirited, point. Count my $100 bucks in.
Of course, no government in their right, sovereign mind would allow a Mars mission which wasn't under their direct control to proceed for the most obvious of reasons -- it might establish a de facto (international treaties be damned) independent entity that it wasn't able to tax, regulate, or defend itself (ahem, its citizens) against.
So, given that governments of nations are the only sovereign entities on this planet, the only way to get this done is to do what the farmers, trade unions, and big business do -- lobby.
And, to be fair, I've been taxed without my consent to pay for things I find execrable since my first paycheck. I wouldn't mind a little payback in the form of a Mars mission.