<Do you argue that this [the space program] is all just social welfare to scientists? Last I saw, NASA jobs paid Shitte and still bright people wanted on the ship.

Wouldn't call it "welfare" exactly, since the people getting the Federal bucks are doing work and creating product for the money. I prefer to use the term "welfare" to refer to entitlements and other government programs that pass out money to recipients just for breathing. Well over half of our current Federal Budget at present is "welfare."

However, NASA, like any government program (including the military), has a strong political incentive to spend as much as possible in as many districts as possible, and make the bureaucracy as large as possible.

Basically, since there is no profit-loss issue, there is no real incentive to control costs, lead times, etc. The private sector has a powerful incentive to do this.

If you live in a city, it's an educational experience to see how long it takes to build a small government facility compared to how long it takes to build a McDonalds.