?? The SETI institute is a California non-profit organization. The government cannot defund it, because it receives no government funding. It is financed entirely by private contributors.
We as a species devote a tremendous amount of our resources to killing each other. Why don't we devote more to exploration?
Wars are justified by governments as an investment in the future. We want to "secure the middle east", etc.
Why isn't science looked at in the same light? It's an investment in the future.
>Why don't we devote more to exploration?
Maybe because people are failing to communicate its benefits clearly? For instance, the OP:
war==bad + assertion of disgust --> X==good
X could be anything. ANYTHING. Why aren't we investing more in wooden shoes? Didn't you know war is bad? Even if X==good, I hope people are inoculated against these type of arguments.