If anyone can justify why NASA should even exist, let alone have its budget doubled because MUH SPACE I'd be happy to listen.
The numerous innovations they create alone are enough to justify a funding increase in my view. Furthermore, I don't like the way you so casually dismiss space exploration as a way to get points among the cynical crowd as you hate on people who want to explore the universe and get answers. Would you have opposed the Homestead Act because of "MUH WEST"?
Right, but by that logic we should be praying for a third world war since plenty of side-innovations come out of that. Focusing on tangential possible benefits isn't convincing.
Starry-eyed (sorry) talk about "exploring the universe" or whatever isn't good justification for spending billions of dollars as far as I'm concerned - what are we exploring? Does it make a tangible difference to anyone's life if we know that there's a certain type of rock on the moon? Particularly when the private sector space industry is rapidly becoming a thing...