I think we should definitively be expanding the space program. The money isn't spent in space; it's spent here on the ground and results in technologies that we can all use here at home. The benefits of NASA's research aren't always obvious, but in retrospect you can find a ton of useful technologies with origins in NASA's basic research.We aren't gonna get off this planet without a huge expenditure that we can't afford. Atomic energy was seen as the solution but if you look at it rationally, nuclear fission is just the source of steam power. Instead of shoveling coal we have a Nuclear rod generating heat and we ain't gonna go into space under steam power.
This is not correct. If we were to really ramp up the space program it would create so much wealth (without having to destroy anything) that we actually could spend our way out of debt. The problem is then, the ruling elite, would no longer have all the power they crave.
A aggressive space program is the only thing that can ensure mankinds continued survival. We absolutely MUST get off of this singular rock before a little rock hits us and either kills us all, or knocks us back to the Stone Age.
When our population reaches about 40 billion, we have exhausted many of our critical resources, and turned millions of square miles into landfills, we're going to be looking for another home. Hopefully, we will have developed a way to get there.