Quote of the Day: Rich Men and Poor Men

I never got a job from a poor man. -Phil Gramm

You know what else you never got from a poor man (except as the intermediary of a salesman)? The ability to place long-distance phone calls, the personal automobile, commercial air travel, commercial jet air travel, mobile phones, electricity at home, television, and maybe — in the future — the ability to travel in space. All of those, except the last, started out as things unavailable, except to the unimaginably wealthy. Today we consider most of these everyday necessities — except for air travel, which is not everyday.

The oldest among us remember when "Jet Set" was the term for a person living in luxury (with the SST being the cream). Now jet travel has become this century's bus line, a necessary evil to get quickly from place to place. Those with memories of the 199os remember a time when only the rich had a mobile phone. And those of us old enough to remember the Jet Set may remember the old codgers of their youth talking about a time when only the rich had automobiles.

With technology, the pattern is inexorable (unless the government interferes). First, it is affordable only to the super-rich, who largely pay the development costs to attain some good or service no one else has. Next, the cost drops, and it gets adopted by the rich. Soon, as manufacturing experience and efficiencies of scale reduce costs, it moves to the wealthy, the upper-middle-class, and the working class. Finally, it is adopted by the poor. It becomes a commodity.

Eventually, the only difference income makes in accessing the once-exclusive product and service is how fancy the thing is and how often it is used. The super-rich own luxury private jets they use almost daily. The poor fly economy class and may fly only a few times in a lifetime.

So what brings this to mind? A screed on a conservative news site grumping about how spacewalks are the province of the super-rich. For those unaware, tech magnate Jared Isaacman underwrote the cost of a manned space flight, Polaris Dawn, choosing to be owner-aboard during the flight. It launched September 10, 2024, carrying four people — two men and two women — into orbit.

It achieved several notable firsts, among which is the first-ever manned spaceflight in a polar orbit — with a near-90-degree inclination. It also has the highest altitude of any manned spaceflight since the Apollo lunar missions. In addition, it is the first commercial spaceflight to have a spacewalk, where the crew exits the spacecraft and travels with nothing but a spacesuit between them and vacuum. This is the first time space travelers not working for a government have done this.

From my view, these four are living a dream I have had since childhood. I wanted to travel in space. The main difference between Isaacman and me is he has the money to live that dream — to which I say, good for him. Not so others. In the article I linked, the author analogized Isaacman to John Jacob Astor, who died aboard the Titanic. He grumped about how space now seems accessible only to the super-rich, and decrying the money Isaacman spent on this. He implies space travel and space exploration should be left to the proper people — governments.

Isaacman is following a long tradition of privately funded expeditions of exploration. In the nineteenth century, wealthy men sponsored expeditions to explore Africa, the Arctic, and the Antarctic. Teddy Roosevelt (not John Jacob Astor-wealthy, but by no means poor) personally participated in an exploration of the Amazon basin. The idea of government-only spaceflight 60+ years after the Space Age started is confining. Private enterprise is what has supercharged spaceflight in the 21st century.

Moreover, where Isaacman is going today, others will follow in the future. I may never get to travel in space, but my grandchildren, if they want to, may have that chance. Just like my grandfathers never flew in an airplane, but I have.

It is also Isaacman's money. He earned it. If this is how he wants to spend it, great. He is pushing the frontiers with his money. Would it be better for him to be spending it on cocaine and hot babes? And if Elon Musk gets to use that money to improve his manned spacecraft and lower their costs? That is a win-win.

Let's have three old-fashioned cheers for gentlemen adventurers. Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip...