Visionary capitalists or welfare queens?

The San Antonio Express-News says that space flight company SpaceX is moving toward approval of a South Texas launch site. That's great news for SpaceX and its founder, Elon Musk, but probably not such a great thing for taxpayers.

SpaceX already receives taxpayer subisidies from NASA, and it's likely that a SpaceX launch site will be subsidized (if not entirely funded) by Texas taxpayers. Virgin Galactic's "Spaceport America" was paid for by the state government of New Mexico.

It looks more and more like these space capitalists aren't free-enterprise visionaries, they're plain old corporate welfare queens. Taxpayers pay; Richard Branson and Elon Musk profit.

Elon Musk has more than one hand in the taxpayer's pocket, by the way. See our earlier post on Tesla Motors.