Well no point in trying then. LOL
No, I never said "no point in trying." To repeat my point: The landing itself won't happen in our lifetime, and may not happen in our children's lifetimes. When we do get there, the only possible initial benefit we might get from having people there is the possibility that they find life, or evidence of life. While that is theoretically possible, the odds of that happening are astronomically negative. After that, it might take another 100 years or so before we see any practical benefit for having people there. All of this at a cost of another stimulus package or so. I'm just being honest here, because no journalist who writes about Mars is ever willing to be.
So the point is, if you and I, and our children have no tangible connection being spent on a trip to Mars, why should be care. And why should we be willing to sacrifice our taxes? Better that the government incentivize private industry to look at new approaches through tax breaks. Promising developments could even intice future goernment partnerships partnerships with private industry. Yo make sure the first flag planted on Mars 100 years from now doesn't say "Virgin Galatic." When the subject is Mars, too many people are taking their cues from science fiction writers.