Why don't they transfer all the manned spaceflight budget into unmanned spaceflight programs and stop launching astronauts altogether. Just because they can doesn't mean they have to.

Unmanned programs could be just as huge as manned programs. I haven't seen nearly the effort, or even the suggestion of cancelling all manned launches. It hasn't even been proposed... I'm shocked it's not being considered an option. I mean, they seem to be fumbling around trying to figure out what to do anyway. Switching to unmanned and getting on with it is the obvious way to go.

Now I remember the expression: "It's a no-brainer."