What's the economic incentive for putting a base on the moon?

Question

The US plans on having an occupied base on the moon by 2024 or something. Other countries were invited, and the Russians already say they want in. Besides exploring, and doing it for the sake of doing it, what is the economic incentive? Columbus & Magellan didn't go on their voyages just to go sailing. They did it for money. Oil companies don't send geologists into jungles or the artic just for fun, they do it to look for oil, so the companies can make money.
I can understand if this planned moon base is supposed to be a stepping stone to say, hypothetically, mining diamonds on Mars, or tapping Jupiter's atmosphere for rocket fuel. But is that the only reason, to use it as a stepping stone to someplace else?
Yeah, I know, the Earth is getting overpopulated, we need to spread out, and Hawking said that humans have to leave Earth to survive. But, if going to the moon was so important, corporations would be getting together to make their own base.

Answer 1

We humans explore. But, one possible explanation could be to establish a safe distance for some humans to retreat from the earth if a global-killer meteor was on it's way to Earth.

Answer 2

1. The moon can be used as an inexpensive and safe location for manufacturing, engineering, and experimentation for things that are dangerous or just plain logistically difficult on earth.
2. Lower gravity and no atmosphere means less contamination of materials for sensitive instrumentation (computers, medical testing equipment, etc.)
3. The material of the moon is rich in light elements (hydrogen, aluminum, silicon, etc.) so can be mined for these materials very easily.
4. Any manufacturing or mining on the moon would not pollute or damage the earth any further.
5. It can be a jumping-off point for missions to the other planets as well as extra-solar missions. Less gravity to overcome to launch a ship, no weather challenges to delay or damage a ship.
6. Building a interstellar ship would be easier and less expensive than on earth - building materials are abundant and easy to extract, lower gravity means easier to build and less fuel to escape the moon.
7. The lower gravity would provide relief to older people with heart conditions, arthritis, or other debilitating conditions - less work to get around, less stress on the body.
8. Probably most important - establishing a base on the moon would teach us how to do it, so when we need to establish a base on Mars, one of the outer planets' moons, or even in another solar system we will have the experience and the technology required. A base on the moon will require new technology to keep us alive and healthy, new and smaller components for computers, telescopes, and other instruments, and a new understanding of human wellness in space.

Answer 3

There's absolutely no economic benefit. It was probably a political ploy to get people's minds off Iraq. Even if it's a stepping stone to another planet, why build a base on another body with gravity. Build it in orbit around the moon would make more sense.