IMO the argument is a red-herring. Exploration and settlement of other planets doesn't preclude any action to improve conditions here on Earth.

I discuss this a lot with friends and most of the time, the central point it's goverment spending. "The government should spend more on improving health and fighting poverty than building spaceships", sometimes the litany goes. My response is the same as yours. Why should our cientific endeavours distract us or discourage us to take our part in the betterment of the world? Neil deGrasse Tyson has a wonderful counter-argument to this: he says that of one dollar the average american pays, one half of a penny (1/200 of a dollar) goes to NASA. And that one dollar gives us the Space Shuttle, that gives us Curiosity, that gives us the Hubble Telescope.

I'm interested in what would you say to that argument, mk. I realise you already have answered it, but, if I may, I would like some more thoughts about this if you have any. Why shouldn't we take money away from NASA and other space programs around the world and put them in social reform and distribution of wealth programs?