Agreed, research money is a good thing, but an outright subsidy for an inefficient process is definitely not.
The Space Program was a good project in it’s first 20 years for fostering new science and materials technology. It should have gone private years ago, but the many dumb treaties we signed which removed tangible property rights and regulations on nuclear power in space effectively maimed the private space industry.
Space has long since "gone private" in areas where money can be made.
What you're talking about is the kind of space stuff like manned missions, which have no likelihood of a positive return on investment within a reasonable amount of time.