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#1 2004-04-05 03:11:46

realmacaw
Banned
From: Utah
Registered: 2004-01-10
Posts: 19

Re: Space Colonization Enticements - How could governments entice

The continental railroad across the U.S. was built because the U.S. government "enticed" a couple big companies to build it by giving them land, (something like 10 miles of land next to the tracks the full distance of the tracks).

The Western U.S. was also settled since homesteaders were enticed by the government by giving them land if they lived on it for something like 5 years.

I am wondering how the U.S. government or other governments could "entice" space colonization to hurry it along.

Since the United Nations previously voted against any country owning land on other bodies in space, that would make it so land couldn't be given away unless the United Nations changed this.  If it was changed, then companies could be given land on the moon or Mars in exchange for colonization.  The goal would be to hurry up the space colonization by private enterprise and not just the government as is the case now.  I think this is the only way it will be hurried up, to get private enterprise involved.  They will not get involved without a big incentive.

Any thoughts on this?

Brian.

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#2 2004-04-05 12:19:27

PurduesUSAFguy
Banned
From: Purdue University
Registered: 2004-04-04
Posts: 237

Re: Space Colonization Enticements - How could governments entice

I think a great starting place would be for the US to leave the OuterSpace treatey so that we can start to claim 'land' in space. Once you have national ownership as an incentive I would guess that would speed things up. Next I would start a multy layered tax incentive plan that profits made from any companys operating in space, or developing technology for space would be completely tax free. Finally once there were actually settlements on NEAs, the Moon, and Mars provide massive tax breaks to companys started on or headquarterd off world.

Just my idea.

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#3 2004-04-05 12:46:08

Bill White
Member
Registered: 2001-09-09
Posts: 2,114

Re: Space Colonization Enticements - How could governments entice

I think a great starting place would be for the US to leave the OuterSpace treatey so that we can start to claim 'land' in space. Once you have national ownership as an incentive I would guess that would speed things up. Next I would start a multy layered tax incentive plan that profits made from any companys operating in space, or developing technology for space would be completely tax free. Finally once there were actually settlements on NEAs, the Moon, and Mars provide massive tax breaks to companys started on or headquarterd off world.

Just my idea.

This might be the issue that incites the next world war. One link, an [http://www.thespacereview.com/article/125/1]essay by Taylor Dinerman:

The thesis is that the US has decided to go for undisputed military supremacy in Earth orbit and at the same time to dominate the solar system through the new vision of combined robotic and human exploration. As Dupas sees it, “…the United States wants to gain the benefits of its multi-decade investment in large scale civilian space systems.”

Look at this [http://www2.interfax.ru/eng/news/politi … story.html]press release - - an earlier Russian press statement praised the Chirac-Putin meeting as being between two leaders who understood the importance of international institutions and international law for future space activities.

I am not unsympathetic to this idea, I just think the current US leadership may have too full a plate to undertake such a program for at least a little while longer.

Resource utilization of lunar resources will open up a political Pandora's box, as it is. Yet Pandora's box was destined to be opened one way or the other, sooner or later.

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