when you're in a dick-measuring contest, clean water, clean air, and safety = "red tape" 😒

‘Capitalism is supposed to be faster than communism’: Space roadblocks frustrate congressman – Orlando Sentinel

Sitting between a pair of Space Force colonels in room full of military and commercial aerospace representatives, U.S. Rep. Mike Haridopolos spoke his mind about some of the hurdles that have slowed launch endeavors in the U.S.

“What frustrates me as an American is capitalism is supposed to be faster than communism, and yet you have run into [times] — [for] many companies in this very room — when it’s the government that’s hampering your success. I won’t name acronyms, but we know them all,” he said.

Haridopolos, who represents the Space Coast in Congress and leads the U.S. House Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee, was speaking Wednesday on a panel at the Space Mobility Conference, a one-day gathering put on by the Space Force that’s part of four days of Commercial Space Week events at the Orange County Convention Center.

He did call out the Environmental Protection Agency, which he said would at times not approve things “because of that bureaucratic inertia.” Another common target from many attendees of the conference has been the paperwork required by the Federal Aviation Administration.

“The Chinese, in some of these cases, are doing it faster. So we have to win. We need to prove that capitalism is a more effective means of transportation and success,” he said. “In some ways, we’ve become so big, it’s hampered that success. So we’re always going to be looking for ways to reduce, to eliminate the proverbial red tape and find that success. And so that’s my focus.”

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2026/01/29/capitalism-is-supposed-to-be-faster-than-communism-space-roadblocks-frustrate-congressman/

backup: https://archive.ph/VzGPA

‘Capitalism is supposed to be faster than communism’: Space roadblocks frustrate congressman

Rep. Mike Haridopolos called out bureaucracy and political change as threats to U.S. space efforts amid Chinese success during the Space Mobility Conference put on by the Space Force.

^{Richard Tribou (Orlando Sentinel)}