I disagree, partially. One half of the argument - the cost - can be presented that way, and Democrats use it frequently. However, the other half of the argument - the gain - is completely different. This is not some "social sciene" garbage - this is a part of the technological foundation of our country. A critical one. It's my opinion that demonstrating just how little that cost is, particularly to simpletons that happen to be in congress or elsewhere, is critical to maintaining our lead. You must remember that although you and I, and others, may feel that money spent on space exploration, etc. , is money well spent, even if the amount is quite high, others don't feel the instant gratification they need from it, and are therefore critical. Simplifying that cost (in terms of a latte) is a rather effective tool in demonstrating just how little it is, especially to those who lack vision.
You're correct. I think the thing to do is to emphasize the size of our economy that has developed as a result of the relatively small cost of the space program. But still, I'd like to leave out the comparison of a program's cost to the comparable cost of some trivial personal expense, which is too much like what the dems do. So yes, emphasize the payoff compared to the cost, which is something the dems can't do for their programs.