As a European, I'm very much aware NASA has spent up to 7 times more than ESA, for science alone.

NASA isn't free to do whatever is best for the public; it depends on political decisions which are sometimes not very rational, but it still gets more money then any other space agency.

NASA has experienced numerous failures, destroying rockets but also killing technicians and astronauts. That's why it has become such a bureaucracy. If litigations are so popular in the US, NASA must be ready to face them. It's not NASA's fault if it's an american habit to sue very easily.

I understand why NASA isn't popular among space enthusiasts but I look at it this way: NASA has delivered in the past (Mercury,Gemini, Apollo, etc...) even if not as routinely (Shuttle) or as early (ISS, HST) as promised.