If Richard earns nice bonuses over 30 years and buys a trip to space, then so be it.
Actually, he didn't pay his trip alone, hence the drama.
How much did he pay for on his own? How much was assisted with in some way or another, and do those who assisted him stand to gain in some way or another?
Seems like this whole ruckus is really a veiled argument over private property rights/abuses...
So the guy payed $30,000,000 for a trip to space, so what? Did you know he also lives in a mini-castle that is equipped with a theater? Well, he actually does, and he blows tons of money every year on a haunted house/Halloween party he runs.
Now in retrospect the average person (a.k.a. persons not resembling Richard Garriot) can only blow money on a trip to Disney Land, lives in an apartment or run of the mill house, and has to pay admission at a local theater or haunted house. But, just as his wealthy counterpart, he too spends his money on enjoyment, and not saving “starving babies." Denouncing the vice of the wealthy is in essence scapegoating the most visible individuals for the vice of society itself. Moreover, I nor anyone participating in this thread know Mr. Garriot on a personal level. Perhaps he does save starving infants on a regular basis, and every one million babies saved he treats himself to a trip to space. Who knows? I don't, but I do know his guilt is no more than mine when I buy that new video card, or that fancy peen hammer I have been wanting for my shop (instead of giving that money to charity.)
Besides all that, I find it hard to take those criticizing him here, and on other sites seriously when NASA's proposed budget for next year is I think Twenty Billion U.S. Dollars. When a space toilet alone can cost nineteen million Federal dollars I can't really begrudge Mr. Garriot his trip to space (that he payed for with his own personal funds, or with the aid of funds he scrounged up via third parties.) Furthermore, this kind of excess is the general cycle of things when R&D is concerned. Either governments fund something (usually for the advancement of warfare,) or the wealthy and privileged play with it for novelty purposes, and sometimes both. Then once it is marketable, or beneficial the general public reaps the benefits. People were leveling the same charges as those against Mr. Garriot at those pioneering Locomotives, and Air Planes so long ago.
He is one of the Founding Fathers of the video game industry. Seems to me he is getting a bad rap. I mean, look he made his money off of people spending on entertainment, and then he turned around and spent those earnings on entertainment for himself. Sounds rational to me.
Moreover, it's not like the guy robbed retirement homes, and preschools to get this trip. Unless you are someone who thinks that by not giving all of your money to those institutions you are robbing them...In that case the issue is most likely a divergence of world or cultural views, and than there is usually no compromise.
/killrant
I think the real question regarding this space trip though is whether or not one digitized copy of Stephen Colbert's DNA is enough? I say we make backups here on earth, and possibly on the Moon just in case something happens to the other one!