If NASA’s plans to build an aerospace park in Loveland pull through, it will mean approximately 10,000 new jobs in the area—not to mention a key tourist attract, which will also bring the area some income. Since the endeavor is in its final stages of negotiation, residents will likely know soon whether or not the jobs will available.

That said, the state budget of the state of Colorado altogether is nearly half the budget of the space command in the state—and as the budget will be experiencing some heavy belt tightening soon, many jobs are expected to be cut as well. Creating satellites that are smaller and cheaper to operate is one proposed solution to the problem; but even so, jobs are likely to get cut in the process.

Then again, the Department of Defense is asking for even more money—Air Force Commander General William Shelton in particular says that “You can’t always get what you want”—after they received a huge amount at the expense of cuts to public programs that directly affect people, too, from health to education to environmental programs.

I suppose operating a rocket or a bomber or a space shuttle would be hard on a few million less—but probably not as hard as it is to feed a family of four under the poverty line. You can’t always get what you want, indeed.