Helium

Why is the US gov't selling off all of it's helium reserve? The only justification that I have heard is deficit reduction. If helium is so important to so many technologies then this seems like no justification at all. I am thinking that even a modern day politician would recognize that.What am I missing here? Are they trying to stimulate the private sector into capturing more of it? Are they creating a shortage intentionally to increase the value of the helium that is still to be extracted from the remaining natural gas? Is it really any big deal at all?

I have been described as child-like but it has been a long time since anyone called me young.-----Well thank you all for appreciating the gravity of this subject.By the way, why isn't there a cloud of escaped helium in the uppershere? If we don't have enough gravity to keep it here what is it doing on the moon?

Too bad. It is such an elegant way to fly. I thought it would make good economic sense to use them for freight transport to inaccessible areas. Drone blimps carrying food to the frozen north.