Read this piece at "The Scientist" which is a life sciences e-mag...

http://www.the-scientist.com/yr2002/feb/opin_020204.html
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I read the article. Can't say it was very impressive. ISS hasn't cost 95 billion yet, but there is not doubt it will get to this cost and probably exceed it, as it continues "with the program".
Going to Mars as a "solution" to the problem is simply dumb. The problem with ISS and everything space related is political and there is no reason a Mars program wouldn't have the same problem as ISS- plus it could quite easily be much worse.
One main reason ISS has cost so much is because it took so much time before it even got into orbit, and the other main cost will be maintaining it in orbit for the coming years ahead.
And then if you had the hardware for a mars mission built, it would take about 4 years to send a crew and have them return- and with launch windows roughly every two years, it would be very easy to have added delays.

"...the author seems to think that the best use for the ISS is life-sciences research in micro-gee, and better yet would be a long-duration Mars mission. While I support his advocacy of Mars flight, and even his funding suggestions I really don't think we need to waste astronaut time and health on micro-gee.

Centrifugal gee-force generators are the way to go! People can adapt to 6 rpm (Earth gee ~ radius 25 metres) and even 10 rpm (Earth gee ~ radius 9 m) according to some, so why not???"

Why not simply spend less travel time to Mars by going there faster- with one way trips time of less than 6 months, zero gee and radiation are less of a problem.