Re: [OT] Bureau of Relocation

Brian, you do have a point with your "it's cheaper to shoot 'em than
move
'em" comments, but assuming there's any kind of "human rights" groups
even
the uber-nations might shy from doing something that blatent.

Assuming none will do that -- or even just using the NAC as an example
--
the real question is "what does it cost to support this person on Earth
for
the rest of their life?" and "can they provide us with enough services
to
pay us back?"  Once the cost of transporting a person to a colony world
becomes less than the cost to provide them with a basic standard of
living
for 50+ years, just ship 'em out!

If I'm not mistaken, this is largely the theory on which Pournelle's
BuReloc was built -- there were not enough jobs for everyone on Earth,
but
there was a public safety net i.e. welfare, so if the gov'ment wanted to
reduce the rolls they had to remove people from the planet, and just
shooting them wasn't really an option.	Again, push/pull as you've been
pointing out, but I'd say the cost of a one-way ticket to space is
rather
less than the cost of supporting what would possibly, or probably, be a
parasite upon your society for their entire life.  It really depends on
your view of the future.

					Aaron