New answers tagged economy
3
Rating companies have basically taken this possiblity into account after the standoff of 2011, factoring it in the credit rating of the US... a little bit:
Mukherji said S&P's action would be the same in the case of debt nonpayments by other countries and that even a default on a single U.S. Treasury bill, note, or bond would push the U.S. rating to the ...
5
Yes
Not because the US cannot pay, but rather because it might not decide to pay. The debt ceiling has become a means of political blackmail, and one or the other side might miscalculate, "call a bluff," or back itself into a political corner.
The image you have shown is a bit misleading. The article you linked also gives a chart of debt limit to ...
-2
I've managed to answer my own question to some extent. Despite the claims in comments that UK authorities would not have cared to provide such a comparative explanation... the ONS actually did:
Britain also suffered the G7’s biggest drop in household spending, the ONS said, noting that the country’s lockdown restrictions have generally been tighter and were ...
0
Mounting a successful mission to Mars is about the most difficult technical task one can undertake in contemporary times. It is EXTREMELY difficult - there have been a lot of well financed failures by more than one nation.
NASA's Mars missions are the exception, not the rule. Outside of them, there is over a 50% failure rate on Mars missions.
If India can ...
0
Consider your constant arguments in preference for a moon mine along these lines:
What if Shah Jahan had instead set a goal of opening a marble quarry near Agra? Surely such a quarry would have been useful, but would it still have an impact today? Building the Taj Mahal certainly required quarrying the raw minerals for its construction, but such a quarry was ...
3
As an addition to the various good existing answers.
India's technical capabilities relative to Pakistan and China are seen to be of major importance. I'll not comment on why here as it rapidly diverges into politic and politics by other means.
Pakistan has launched a number of satellites using Chinese launch vehicles from within China. It has conducted no ...
7
What's the use trying to find a sea passage to the west? We already have working trade routes to Asia.
What if the Spanish had said that to Columbus? Heck, what if the Portuguese had said that to their sailors who wants to see if they could round Africa and get to Asia by sea at all?
What if the Soviets and Americans had decided that space was too expensive ...
1
There are immediate and short term gains, mostly political image. Everyone thinks about ICBMs and the mighty power of the US, but let's think about the Soviet Union.
They were the first in sending a man into space, but the resources spent there were diverted from other projects and the country ended up in the 1970s buying wheat from the US to avoid famine (...
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Space programs are often maligned for being a "waste of money that could go to the benefit of the common people." These critiques, as you seem to suspect, fail to account for the meaningful benefits that such programs produce for ordinary people. The single largest of which is:
TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
Technology transfer refers to a process by which ...
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@JamesK and @DavidHammen answers are pretty good, but there is still another important aspect:
Space technology and military technology are pretty much interconnected.
By developing a space industry, a country can develop high-end rocketry and other military-important technology:
for less money (like, say, 100x less without the military/secrecy/etc bonus)
...
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Are there any tangible benefits for India going to Mars with respect to common people?
Rhetorical question: Are there any tangible benefits for India maintaining the Taj Majal with respect to the common people? Bulldoze it down and sell the land to developers. That's a bit over the top as the Taj Mahal is definitely a plus to the Indian economy. But what ...
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Firstly "glory" is not nothing. When the Indian Cricket team beat England, people are happy, and being happy is good. That joy is a tangible benefit for people. Modi says
When our cricket team wins a tournament and returns, the entire country rejoices but this achievement is a thousand times greater,
There are tangible benefits in the ...
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