AAAAAGGGGGGG!!! I want to scream when I hear things like this.
First, we are incapable of detecting life in other galaxies and no one is looking for it.
Second, SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Life) is privately funded by an organization called the SETI league. NASA stopped funding this effort in 1995. Private citizens are still free (for now) to spend their money anyway they see fit.
Third, finding life is not the primary effort of any current space programs. The only experiments involving life take place on the ISS and are designed to see how life reacts to a zero-gee environment.
Fourth, space missions and probes to other planets help us understanding our own Earth environment. Examining the chemistry, geology and the atmospheres of other planets helps us better understand these processes on Earth. This in turn improves quality of life on Earth.
Lastly, It is difficult to find any aspect of our lives that is not effected by some aspect of the space program. Everything from weather and communication satellites, computers, even the humble smoke detector in your home has it's roots in the space program.
If people want to spend their own money on SETI, great, good for them. As far as public funding on space, dollar for dollar it's probably the best investment ever made.