Yea. So you and I agree. I want moons, planets and fringes of the solar system....we've been given military payloads, a "multi-national" station and curators whining about jobs....
Well, the military pays for much of the space program, and those other nations that make up the "multi" pay for a lot that NASA can't afford.
We all want the fringes of the solar system, but we haven't even crossed the fence to the moon next door in thirty years. We need to do that before we can visit the planet across the street.
Even a trip to Mars cannot pay the bills in the forseeable future. Only a base on our own moon can return concrete dividends in the next few decades, and even that only at the far end of that time span.