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LAUNCH PAD
Once Upon a Time
by Staff Writers
Bethesda MD (SPX) May 30, 2012


File image.

Once upon a time there where two big bad wolves, each ripping off the taxpayers by charging exorbitant prices for putting satellites into orbit. For years and years these wolves were getting away with charging the government hundreds of millions of dollars for each launch.

Of course, these wolves were really not so bad, but they gave the appearance of being bad because of the prices they charged for launch services.

In fact, their government customers were equally bad, because acquisition practices and regulations were really bad.

They drove the costs up, up and up with total disregard for responsible practices and the hard-earned taxpayer funds that millions of workers have to pay to the Treasury. This has been going on for decades and there was no end in sight.

However, about 10 years ago, Little Red Riding Hood appeared on the launch vehicle scene and challenged the wolves to a competition. She was going to build her own launch vehicles and sell them at ridiculously low prices to the government and anybody else that wanted a great deal.

She said, "You big bad wolves don't know how to compete, so I am going to show you." And, off she went to build a new low-priced family of launch vehicles.

The wolves were very upset and they huffed and they puffed, but could not discourage Red Riding Hood. Sure enough, it did not take long for her to get the attention of government customers and a whole bunch of commercial and foreign customers.

Soon, government customers started to believe that Red Riding Hood might really be able to create a low-cost family of launch vehicles and to satisfy many of their needs. The big bad wolves continued to huff and puff, but they eventually became exhausted. And, Red Riding Hood succeeded in capturing a great deal of launch business around the world.

This story might have been a fairytale, but it is not. Red Riding Hood used some principals that many of us have forgotten. These include the entrepreneurial approach to business, innovation, tenacity and the willingness to take a risk.

The wolves are not entrepreneurs, nor are they risk-takers. They worship at the altar of the government. Little Red Riding Hood believes in the profit motive and is not ashamed of it.

The moral of this story is that capitalism in America benefits everyone, except of course the big bad wolves.

.


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