Some people view it as their calling in life, figuring out ever more creative and "efficient" (really inefficient) ways to snatch money from taxpayers and funnel it to MNCs or into their own coffers. The masters of this of course are the energy, banking, pharmacutical and many other industries and the current apex of their skills- the climax predator -ace money hijacking system is the new practice known as
ISDS. Countries can be turned into properties of MNCs like magic with ISDS. For example, look at the 50 billion Euro award in the Yukos case.
Soon, these awards will stretch into the trillions of dollars.
Investors have to be protected, after all. Nothing else is important. Make the planet starve. Shock therapy.
Check out italaw.com if you want to see what I am talking about. But prepare to be alternately appalled and shocked at how much money is being wasted. Basically everything we think its government's jobs to do has become a means of making them pay MNCs millions or billions of dollars,
cdev, I agree. If the rest of the world knew what the UK was really like they'd be shocked.
Most of the money spent 'on space' can be spent again, they don't really pack the rockets with money and send it off.
The problem with space is that its not a waste of money at all. Uncontrolled, random magical new knowledge is created
outside of corporate control and of uncertain provenance. MNCs see that as
tantamount to expropriation - like a theft from them.