The California Coastal Commission on Thursday rejected the Air Force’s plan to allow SpaceX to launch up to 50 rockets a year from Vandenberg Air Force Base in Santa Barbara County.
“Elon Musk is hopping around the country, spouting and tweeting political falsehoods and attacking FEMA, all while claiming he wants to help hurricane victims with free Starlink internet access,” Commissioner Gretchen Newsom said at the San Diego meeting.
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 activities, shielding the company from the need to obtain its own permits, even if military loads would be. is not worn.
This is from Alex Nieves, “California officials cite Elon Musk’s politics in rejecting SpaceX launches,” PoliticsOctober 10, 2024.
I think the public choice model of public officials’ behavior provides insights. One insight is that officials will follow their own interests and that these often have nothing to do with the more general interests of the population. Politicians who anticipate this criticism, not mainly from economists but mainly from ordinary citizens, often try to dress their actions in the language of the common good or the common good.
But every now and then the mask falls off. Gretchen Newsom simply let the mask slip. Note her statement: her list of her grievances against Elon Musk. Ask yourself if there is any connection between these three grievances and whether it would be a good idea to have Musk launch rockets from Vandenberg.