That certainly is a valid point. However it only addresses one of the 4 areas in my post. Inspiring kids is not, by far, the only reason I feel we should have a aggressive space program, as I pointed out earlier.
The big question is really this:
Should the government be spending money on things that have a purely scientific benefit, with no KNOWN AND PREDICTABLE return either monetarily or in direct improvement the security the nation or to the improvement of peoples lives?
My answer is that I believe it won't get done otherwise.
Corporations expect to see, and rightfully so, a return on their investment in some time less that a generation or two. So they won't undertake huge programs like that.
At the same time, while we can't guarantee benefits resulting from a space program, we can look in to the past and see that there defiantly have been benefits in many areas, some quite dramatic. I'm not just talking about actual products as benefits. I'm also talking about things you can't touch, like national pride, and inspiration to the younger generations.
Really it's just as simple as that.