The bolded part says it. If not for the US, their vast industrial base and their desire for reaching the moon I don't think mankind would have set their foot on moon. May be in the future some other nation would have done it, but Americans did it in the 20th century itself. Also I respect them for the fact that when they set foot on moon they claimed it for all mankind, not only for Americans.
So if someone says that Americans are wasting money on futuristic technology, remember that without their money power and innovation many of the things that we take for granted like internet may not have existed.