Resolved: The United States Federal government should mine asteroids.

Contention 1: Funding NASAActually NASA is working on the Orion nuclear purplusion space craft at the moment. NASA itself already acknowledges that this space craft will take us to Mars and even asteroids. (. http://www.nasa.gov...) My opponent says that the US federal government cannot fund NASA, but may I remind you that I stated in my Round two opening argument that the money will be reallocated so as to not create more spending and add to our large deficet. I also remind you that our time period is within the century which gives us time for NASA to get it's rocket program up and running which will be highly likely concidering how the Russian Federation is starting to stiff arm the US in the aerospace industry. Before my opponent brings it up next round, yes the Orion space craft is legal. (. http://en.wikipedia.org...(nuclear_propulsion)) The reason is that it bans nuclear weapons, not the peaceful use of nuclear explosions. My opponent says my two examples are false, but that is incorrect as the Federal government funded and helped get these projects off the ground. If the US did not provide the iniative these projects would have never got off the ground and shipping goods would be way more expensive. The Panama Canal helped make goods significantly cheaper in shipping and the Railways gave birth to towns all across the fronteer. Spuring the US economy. The US Federal Government must intervene here and get the project off the ground as it will truely improve the US economy and the Global Economy. Contention 2: Why we need it. My opponent dropped this key argument. Please extend this across the board. Contention 3: China WarMy opponent has dropped this important argument. This argument shows that if we don't do this plan that the entire Global Economy will be wrecked! The results can be anything from a trade war to a nuclear war with China. Please extend this across this board as well. Contention 4: US Deficet My opponent says doing this project will just increase our debt, but as I stated in Contention 1 we will be reallocating Federal funding from another department in order to fund this project. There will be no new spending. My opponent also drops how we will be able to pay off the US debt with the vast amount of resources that we will aquire in space. Contention 5: US EconomyMy opponent completely dropped Subpoint 2, which proves that the US mining asteroids will not casuse a flooding of the market as they will just do the same thing as South Africa and OPEC and release a small amount of resources into the Global Market. He also dropped how doing so will create a trillion dollar industry and hundreds of thousands of jobs. Which shows that the US will be bettered by this plan. Please extend these arguments across the board. Contention 6: LegalityMy opponent dropps my argument here that if you can move it then it's not a celestrial body. On top of that he drops my Reaganomics argument showing that by the US mining asteroids soon other nations will fallow and the general wealth of the globe will increase, thus it's not illegal. Since he dropped that argument that gives me this contention which is the only major point that my opponent continues to hammar away. I do not care if private companies have the green light the debate is about the United States Federal Government mining asteroids not private companies and my opponent ended up dropping my argument that I had made stating that private companies did not want to mine asteroids, because investors will not wait that long to see a return. Since that argument was dropped you can see that I win the Private Companies argument as well. The US did not sign the Moon Treaty so they are not bound by it. (. http://www.oosa.unvienna.org...) Most of the quotes that my opponent provided from my source pertains to the moon not asteroids. In conclusion, we can see that not mining asteroids is too dangerious as we risk a stand-off with China that will greatly damage the Global Economy. My opponent has dropped many of my contentions including the impact arguments that I have made about the Global Economy. The US will not be deficet spending since we are just reallocating money and the US debt will be paid off which will increase the value of the dollar. Asteroid mining will create hundreds upon thousands of new jobs and a trillion dollar industry. Asteroid Mining and it's means are legal.