Can society afford to stop funding NASA?

I've heard from a lot of people they think NASA is a waste of money. I also know a lot of people working for NASA. Aside from them being forced into unemployment, during a time when we can least afford more people in the unemployment lines, there is a bigger picture most people do not begin to think about. It's what we use everyday in our lives and the things that make our lives better. 6,300 patents have come out of what NASA has needed. It turns out what NASA needs helps all of us.

NASA Spinoffs - Inventions Benefiting Health - Apollo Spinoff Inventions

CAT Scan and MRI

Digital signal-processing techniques, originally developed to enhance pictures of the Moon for the Apollo Program, are an indispensable part of Computer-Aided Tomography (CAT) scan & Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technologies used today worldwide.

Cordless power tools & appliances are one of the most successful commercial spin-offs of space-based technology.

Cool suits, which kept Apollo astronauts comfortable during moon walks, are today worn by race car drivers, hazardous area workers, & people with specific health problems.

Kidney dialysis machines were developed as a result of a NASA developed chemical process that could remove toxic waste from used dialysis fluid.

But there are more

More Cool NASA InnovationsWe can't list out all 6,300 patents that have stemmed from NASA research, but there are a few that almost all of us have in our homes today. A few standouts include ear thermometers, wireless power, smoke detectors, international calling, tires and water purification, among others.

click the links above and then understand that when it comes to NASA, it's not can America afford to continue it. It's can society afford to not do it?

If President Obama is thinking that NASA's programs are a waste of taxpayer funds, he really needs to think again about if Americans can afford to not fund it. Who knows what else they can come up with that will help us because of the research done?

Does Obama Want to Ground NASA's Next Moon Mission?
By Jeffrey Kluger
Thursday, Dec. 11, 2008
Getting into a shouting match with the HR rep is not exactly the best way to land a job. But according to the Orlando Sentinel, that's just what happened last week between NASA administrator Mike Griffin and Lori Garver, a member of Barack Obama's transition team who will help decide if Griffin keeps his post once the President-elect takes office. If the contretemps did occur, it could help doom not only the NASA chief's chances, but the space agency's ambitious plans to get Americans back to the moon.

The mere fact that the story is making the rounds reflects the very real friction between NASA and the transition team — which has sparked a groundswell of support among space agency employees to keep the boss. Within NASA, there is a real concern that while the Obama campaign rode the call for change to a thumping victory in November, change is precisely what the space agency does not need. (See photos of different countries' space programs here.)

The stagnant NASA of the past 20 years has been poised to become a very new NASA — thanks, in many respects, to the outgoing Bush Administration. In 2004, the President announced a new push to return astronauts to the moon and eventually get them to Mars. Many skeptics saw the hand of political whiz Karl Rove in that, suspecting that the whole idea was just a bag of election year goodies for space-happy states like Florida and Texas, as well as for voters nostalgic for the glory days of Apollo. But Bush, NASA and Congress did mean business, and eventually came up with a plan under which the space station would be completed and the shuttle would be retired by 2010. That would free up about $4 billion per year, which would be used to pay for a new generation of expendable boosters as well as a 21st century version of the Apollo orbiter and lunar lander for those rockets to carry. (Read about the space moon race here.) click link above for more