Colorado has half the population of the greater LA area alone. You have fewer of everything, including decent people, taco shops, and even birkenstock-clad nature enthusiasts.

The difference is that we have the money to deal with those things, but lack the political will.

Most of Africa flat-out doesn't have the money to be wasting on space programs.

Yeah but that's not the point here, is it? It's that people are rightfully surprised that an African country (Uganda in particular) is involved with a space program when many, if not most of their people aren't have some of their basic needs met.

Government spending is a zero-sum game; every penny spent on one thing is a penny that isn't being spent somewhere else.