Mars landing & NASA?

Can someone please explain to me why we are spending money to build things that will go to Mars when our fuel prices are horrifiying and our economy is so bad? We can go to Mars anytime but does anyone feel we should be addressing these other issues first and worry about life on Mars second or am I the only one? (I'm all for space exploration and searching for life outside eaqrth but right now is not a good time to be doing this...just my thoughts)