The U.S. Federal Government should increase its exploration and/or development of space

I will first attack my opponents case, then defend my own, and then my final remarks. To attack my opponents case. 1. Inspiration Today's youth are, lets say under qualified to be astronauts, scientists, or engineers to work at NASA. "Overall, the federal figures report 57 percent of white students finish their degree, compared with 44 percent of Hispanics and 39 percent of blacks."[1] this is concerning college dropouts. Becoming a scientist, engineer, or an astronaut requires a lot of education and a lot of training that the current youth isn't achieving. With a lot of people dropping out of school, they are not able to work for NASA. The reason is because all the youth don't care about anything. The reason why everyone was so impressed by the first moon walking is because it was a much simpler time then it is now. Today there is a lot of things that would WOW! any one who never saw them. So if someone of today's youth were to see that, they would be like "meh, I don't care". Therefore increasing the space program won't inspire any youth, or kid to work for NASA because they won't care too much. 2. Knowledge The reason why America is behind in both mathematics and scientific literacy is explained in my first attack. Increasing the space program wont change America's math or science status compared to the world. America will get knowledge as other nations make discoveries, so there won't need to be a need to increase the space program. America will know more over time, as the need for new things on earth will be needed, such as advanced warfare, preventing natural disasters, and/or creating new cures, the point I am getting is that Knowledge will be obtained over time, such as Albert Einstein, with his many theories. 3. Technology and Advancement Alright so Moore's law would become obsolete over a matter of time, but in my second attack, technology comes over time. Let's take a look at the time line of technology, in certain points of history when there was great hardships like the "dark ages" or the great depression, have brought forth great technological advancements. Like I said in my second attack, America can get new technology with out increasing the space program. America has already got the best of technology from the space program in the past. 4. Cost and payoff To increase the space program would leave America a greater cost then what ever the payoff will be. I agree with my opponent that in the past 10 years there has been many, lets say "bad things" that left a "pretty bill" on America's debt. To even think about increasing America's program, America would need to take care of the "bill from their expensive dinner". Sure America has spent a lot of money in the past, but how could we drop the debt and work on the space program, I think that America should try to fix the major debt problem first. If America were to spend more money to the space program it would have to break some bones on some other important things like education, and my opponent's second point cares about knowledge. Therefore if my opponents fourth point is true then my opponent's second point wont work, so my opponents fourth point contradicts my opponents second point. Now to defend my case. 1. World peace I still believe that the world needs to be in a sense of world peace to increase the space program. My opponent brought up robots or satellites going in for now, but there could be hackers to hack these robots or satellites and then turn them to go against America. There are many different ways a "space terrorist" could strike the U.S. such as attack America in space, attacking America from space, or attacking America through the Internet world. As soon as America increases it's space program, they would broadcast to the world about it, so they seem stronger then everyone else, but then the people behind wiki-leaks, could hack America's government and get the technology and then sell it and then other countries could use it to attack America. If America doesn't increase it's space program then it would prevent this new way to attack America. Other countries are behind in space technology so there is no need to increase America's space program. 2. Debt and Money Just like I said in my fourth attack, America would need to make certain cuts to increase the space program. Before America could increase the space program, it would need to take of the debt crisis. Try to picture America's debt as a stack of pancakes, each pancake is something to pay off, and America's plate is full and can't have any more on it, so there isn't that much room to increase the space program, so America would have to start to clean off it's plate. 3. Various Dangers A. I do agree that a lot of people in the past have done many great things that would danger their lives, but the fact that they are on Earth and they could get help if their life was in danger is a different thing. But unlike space, there is no luxury of gets any thing you need right there, to increase the space program would increase the risk of people losing their lives in space. Before America increases its space program, there would need to be a discovery to do things safer in space, which won't need an increase in the space program. B. There are many signs pointing to the potential of other life forms in the universe, the universe is big and "A new discovery of bacterial life in a Martian-like environment on Earth suggests our neighboring red planet could also be hospitable to some form of microbial life."[2]. There is ice on mars, so it has a very high chance of life, and certain bacteria or some kind of virus could live in the ice which could harm the human race if brought back to earth. Increasing the space program would lead to the possibility of exterminating the human race. C. I will say, America needs to develop a safer way to send people in space, and at the rate America's space program it will find it with out the need to increase the space program. If America increases its space program it would put people in danger in space. Now for my final remarks. There is no need for America to increase its space program, because America is fine where it is and it would also cause more problem then benefits if America increases the space program. I am not saying that America should throw away the space program, but not to increase it. Everyone has to realize there are more important things then the space program that should be taken care of first. Going back to my pancake stack metaphor, America's plate is too full to increase the space program, so lets let America start to clean off its plate before it tries to get seconds. If America were to increase its space program, it would have to make certain cuts, and the lowest priority is education. In the end, America will make the right decisions to help everybody. So I ask you, to vote Con, because America is fine where it is, and there is no need to increase the space program. Vote Con! [1] = http://www.msnbc.msn.com... [2] = http://www.msnbc.msn.com...