The California Coastal Commission on Thursday rejected the Air Force’s plan to give SpaceX permission to launch up to 50 rockets a year at Vandenberg Air Force Base in Santa Barbara County.
“Elon Musk is jumping around the country, spewing and writing political lies and attacking FEMA while touting his desire to help hurricane victims with free Starlink internet access,” Commissioner Gretchen Newsom said at a meeting in San Diego.
The agency’s commissioners, appointed by the governor and legislative leaders, voted 6-4 to reject the Air Force plan over concerns that all SpaceX launches would be considered military operations, preventing the company from obtaining its permits, even if there are no military payloads. not carried.
This is from Alex Nieves, “California officials cite Elon Musk’s politics for rejecting SpaceX launch,” PoliticsOctober 10, 2024.
I think that the public’s preferred model of the behavior of public officials provides information. Another assumption is that officials will pursue their own interests and that these are often inconsistent with the general public interest. Politicians, anticipating this criticism, not especially from economists but mostly from everyday citizens, often try to dress up their actions in the language of public interest or common good.
But sometimes, the mask slips. Gretchen Newsom just let the mask slip. Note his statement, which is his list of complaints about Elon Musk. Ask yourself if there is a connection between those three complaints and whether it would be a good idea to let Musk launch the rockets from Vandenberg.
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