Re: msn story

On Mon, 15 Nov 1999, David wrote:

> I believe a major key to space exploration would be to designate space
> as a "tax free" zone, allow any company(s) that produce or manufacture
> in space all profits would be exempt from Federal/state/local taxes.
> Time to make it worth while to go to space.	 

	Tax free!  Hey, somebody book me a flight to Mars!

	Although I am certainly all for private expansion into space, I
think that there are going to be few problems when the issue of property
rights comes into play.  The UN's Moon and Space treaties have declared
that celistrial bodies like the moon, the planets and the asteriods are
"the communal property of mankind."  Our 21st century asteriod
prospectors, hoping to make a fortune of the vast mineral and water
resources of the Belt may find that the cost of dealing with the UN will
outweigh the potential profit that their enterprise may bring to them.	

	Hmmmmm... This would make for an interesting FT scenario now
that
we have UN ships.

Later,
Mark A. Siefert

"[Like] fire and fusion, government is a dangerous servant and a
terrible
master."
						
					--Professor Bernardo de la Paz
					"The Moon is a Harsh Mistress"
					by Robert A. Heinlein

E-MAIL: cthulhu@csd.uwm.edu	WWW: http://www.uwm.edu/~cthulhu
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