On the contrary I think with more of a focus being put on the privatization of space we will see an explosion of innovation over the next several years. SpaceX has a promising future when it comes to delivering cargo into space at a price the government could never imagine. Virgin Galactic is still a few years away from achieving low earth orbit, but they have done a lot in the last 5 years alone to get where they are today. With greedy profit being the motivational force behind space exploration private companies will push the envelope to the extreme. That's something that's simply impossible for the government to do.
The Shuttle program is over 20 years old now. What advances in manned space exploration have we seen over the last 20 years? Very little.
