Space exploration

[KevinTheOmnivore]

So I've been thinking about this lately, and I was wondering what the general thoughts on this are.

Supposedly, NASA gets about $16 billion annually. I don't know how that compares to the space programs in other countries, but to me, that's a lot of money. I don't know how the NASA budget works out, nor do I know the politics behind it, but it seems to me that $16 billion could go towards a whole lot of public schools, or could even go towards a whole lot of armor in Iraq (I know that's the sentimental cliche of the day, but it's the truth).

Is this worth it? Is there a really strong argument to maintain public funding for this? I particularly would rather see more exploration of the "space" right here on Earth. How does the budget for NASA annually compare to that of the CSCOR, for example?

It's uncharacteristic of me to say this, but can't the space program be privatized? Why can't we let the stupid billionares be the first to Mars, and save the $16 billion for other more earthly projects?