Today NASA receives less than a penny from every us tax dollar, far less than what the government spends subsidizing the technologies of yesterday. NASA’s annual budget of $17.8 billion is puny when compared to the $41 billion of oil operations.
Its goals for the next ten years has grown increasingly unreachable. Human space has gone off course. The list of places we want to look gets longer, while the resources to do so decline.
A 1997 poll found that Americans thought NASA represented approximately 20% of the federal budget. In reality, NASA represented 0.9% of the federal budget. The record high level for NASA funding was 4.4%.
Despite that, just throwing money at NASA wouldn't be in our best interest even though they have got us to the moon and back. A better alternative is to have competition and let the best company win by proving they have the best innovations. Space X is a great example of what happens when you regulate a monopoly and spread the money around. Other organizations like DARPA hold competitions to spur innovation and growth.
In addition, increasing the budget by a zero or two does not make qualified scientists, engineers, or technicians appear out of thin air. More people will consider space-related work if more jobs become available, but momentous alterations in the workforce, especially at the "high end" don't happen overnight.
