The U.S. space program is a source of tremendous prestige to the U.S. government. People whose plans depend on the U.S. government's voluntarily letting private companies take over leadership of parts of the space enterprise should be aware of the strength of the government's need for prestige. (Prestige helps maintain moral legitimacy, which is necessary in the long term for the continued ability of exercise power.)
Wow, 50 more billions was needed to develop Ares?!
If USA is in dire need of prestige that doesn't come from its industry, why not put more money(+) into research to eradicate diseases of the world's poor, like malaria? Oh wait, an industrialist is already doing that...
Why not e.g. give a few billions to DARPA for energy and health research? The USA should get both prestige and real jobs from that.
(+) Say, a tenth of the money earned from the cost difference between Ares and the private alternatives being built now?
