Every so often, I receive a Sharper Image catalog, which pitches interesting (if overpriced) goods. The most recent edition is no exception. Though its titled "Father's Day 2007," it offers something that beats yet another tie or barbeque apron: a zero-gravity experience.

For under $3,700, you get a 90-minute flight on a specially modified Boeing 727 that will let you experience weightlessness. And I thought parasailing was a blast.

So what does this commercial plug have to do with state policy? Space exploration has been synonymous with NASA, an agency of the federal government. Yet finally, space is finally being commercialized, available to willing buyers through the agency of a private company.

So often, I see state and local governments selling goods and services--golf courses, ski resorts, water parks, electricity, water treatment and delivery, alcoholic beverages, Wi-Fi service, health insurance and medical treatment, and so forth--that can be provided by entrepreneurs in the private sector.

The reasons given for this intrusion into business vary. Sometimes it's a "natural monopoly," sometimes it's public safety, and sometimes it's ... just impatience for a private sector that has yet to deliver the service or good in the kind and quantity desired by the politically persuasive.

The private sector is catching up on on providing travel to "the final frontier." This progress shows that the justifications for government-led commercial activity is ... as empty as space.