public safety bulletins should be provided by an independent resource; if a country doesn't have public service broadcasters then setting up a Fediverse instance *and* an independent website/app is a good idea, as well as making use of regional/national alert systems that are already available with many modern mobile devices (the UK is testing the national alert system next week)
@pinsk @dada_drummer he’s never had a problem taking public funds though
@masterdon @pinsk @dada_drummer
We need to segment the 'contracts' from the actual subsidies. I'm sure he still takes millions if not billions in subsidies, but contracts for services are not the same thing.
Of course that is also caveated with, who else is launching things into space so perhaps it somewhat qualifies. But I'd think the best simplest message is actually full on subsidies so we aren't playing word definitions later.
Edit: a similar thing, Congress ppl do not have gov't provided healthcare...they have employer provided healthcare via the exchanges. It's just that the employer happens to be the gov't.
@pinsk @masterdon @dada_drummer
Definitely some gray areas. Orbital launch is a good example of something of that.
Should it be a public good? I think that's pretty debatable. It certainly has been due to economics, but SpaceX and others are bringing down launch costs.