A lot of the economic uses you foresee for space will only materialize once a space infrastructure starts to develop. For example, there is no need for us to go to the moon for water. An industry based at a Lagrangian station would certainly be willing to pay a premium for lunar water, however.

As for our difference of opinion regarding government regulation of private enterprise, I don't think we're going to resolve it here. My position is that businesses are inherently selfish organizations (that is not a criticism or an insult, it's how I will run my business when I get one!) whose primary agenda is their own survival and growth. They must be kept under some kind of control to keep them from becoming destructive, not just to their customers, but to their employees and stockholders as well. I believe the free market alone is not sufficient to provide this control. I suspect you do not disagree entirely on this, although we obviously have deep differences as to how, and how much.