Why does the government cuts NASA spending

This is where I think we should be spending money.

First of all, anyone who believes NASA is grossly overfunded is entirely wrong. NASA gets less than 1 percent of the federal budget, and in fact, I recently read an article stating the US spends more on air conditioning in the wars than on NASA. Honestly, a fraction of one percent will not get us out of a recession so trying to cut programs like NASA is pure stupidity. Programs like NASA innovate, create new technologies, inspire millions, and in the process, generate wealth for the economy and a better understanding of the universe in which we live. I agree with you and I wish there were more people like you who view scientific exploration as a valuable component to our prosperity.

You may think it is where we should be spending money but in a democracy it is the majority opinion that counts. And a lot of people see no use for it. No profitable use anyway. Do not include commercial satellites in that, because people will correctly point out that those are built and paid for by private companies making a profit and not by government money or the NASA budget. And don't say that NASA invented those satellites because people will say now that they are already invented we no longer need NASA. There is no habitable planet in our solar system so colonizing another planet is not possible. And interstellar travel is so far beyond our technology it isn't a factor in the decision. And spin off technologies like Velcro in most cases were not actually invented by NASA for space; they were invented in the private sector but were not commercially successful until NASA made them famous. And lastly they will say they are bored with it, not caring that a new kind of rock was found on Mars or a frozen ocean on a Moon of Saturn. People don't want to spend their (tax) money on that when they can't afford health care and the government is so far in debt that it is in danger of defaulting on it's debt and destroying the whole world's economy in the process, making their health care even more unaffordable.

The U.S. government has not cut NASA's budget. President Obama recommended increasing NASA's budget, but Congress froze it instead.

In case you hadn't noticed, we were in a deep recession that we have yet to recover from. If it came down to space exploration or having a job....well, the choice is obvious....for me anyway.

Congressmen think they can appease their constituents (the people who vote them into office) if they act like they are spending the taxpayers' money wisely.
Geoff is right on what Congress did.

Some say our country is deep in debt and almost broke and we can not afford spending billions for the space program.