Thanks to the Green New Deal proposal, there’s lot of talk about massive government programs again this week. One such program culminated in putting men on the moon in 1969, but Vox’s Matt Yglesias sees that more as a waste of resources than a “success story”:

It’s weird to me how often JFK’s “let’s put a man on the Moon” idea is cited as a success story — it cost tons of money, was driven by Cold War hysteria, and turned out to be useless to the point that it’s been decades now since anyone’s bothered to go. — Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) February 8, 2019

To paraphrase Bill Clinton, it depends on what your definition of “useless” is:

Totally useless. Except for leading to the invention of the CAT Scanner, computer microchips, cordless tools, freeze-dried food, insulation, memory foam, satellite broadcasting, scratch resistant lenses, smoke detectors, water filtration, and more. But other than that, useless. pic.twitter.com/U2nEpPevah — neontaster (@neontaster) February 8, 2019

There are few people in writing who think as little about what they tweet before doing it as Matt Yglesias. — neontaster (@neontaster) February 8, 2019

Additionally, that speech is touted as a success because JFK gave a deadline to something we didn't even know would be possible when he said it, and we still got it done. It speaks to American drive and the ability to achieve the impossible. It's not literally about the moon. — neontaster (@neontaster) February 8, 2019

And the list goes on.

Insulation? — Andrew Keatts (@andy_keatts) February 8, 2019

Yeah reflective insulation like for thermal blankets and also home insulation comes from NASA. — neontaster (@neontaster) February 8, 2019

Ive seen this thought popping up recently. It's amazing how little people realize that most of today's scientific achievements came from the space race… — max (@chemaxtry) February 8, 2019

Velcro, multi-stage rocketry, lunar data, docking ports, … — Keith Barrett (@KeithBarrett) February 8, 2019

It is one of the most impressive and important accomplishments of mankind in all of human history. https://t.co/GgjBRQLpZ1 — Michael R. Strain (@MichaelRStrain) February 8, 2019

This might be the worst tweet ever sent. https://t.co/BYbDHZktlh — Andy McIntire (@ihateatmfees) February 8, 2019

This might be the Sistine Chapel of bad Matty Y takes but if we’re being totally honest, there’s a ton of contenders. https://t.co/xAZhYpUhd2 — Will Hayes (@WillHayes702) February 8, 2019

This is, without hyperbole, possibly one of the dumbest things I've ever read on the internet. https://t.co/e0shW4sSX9 — Ryan Roch (@ryanrochnroll) February 8, 2019

Then again…

those advances in technology have also led to the invention of the internet, and the internet means that matt has a place to post his shit on, so overall I'd say that going to the moon was Bad — Peter Westeros (@PeterWesteros) February 8, 2019

Ha!

It’s worth noting that Yglesias thinks the space race was a waste of resources, but he’s all behind AOC & other progressives’ Green New Deal proposal:

The practical upshot of the Green New Deal push — put climate change squarely on the 2020 agenda. https://t.co/4OtXXItb4Z — Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) February 7, 2019