Don't Call or Write Your Congressman

What actions can I take as an individual to help our nation expand its space exploration activities?

This is the most common question that I hear among space enthusiasts.  Last night while listening to The Space Show, the guest, Ed Buckbee, repeated the most common answer:  Call or write your congressman to let him know that you support funding for a strong space program.  To my mind, that's precisely the wrong thing to do.  Instead, I would call or write my congressman to tell him (or her, in my case) that the space program -- especially the manned program -- as currently configured is a waste of money and that much of NASA's funding should be refunded to the American taxpayer.

A space enthusiast should save his refunds and other money so that at some period in the future, he can spend money to go to space too.  Spend $3,000 for a zero-g flight available now.  Spend $200,000 for a suborbital flight available in a couple of years.  Spend $20 million for a flight into Low Earth Orbit available now.  These actions will demonstrate to potential investors that we care about spacefaring and are willing to put our money in the  pot to encourage it.