I first read about this idea in the 1970s, long before it was anywhere near feasible. Due to the issues with laser transmission of power you listed, microwave was the best method. Critics ranted (on behalf of the part of their owners, Big Oil/fossil fuel companies) "birds will fry in the air" and "it will harm passengers in an airplane". But studies showed those claims to be without merit- birds wouldn't fall from the sky, already baked and the radiation flight passengers would receive is less than the background cosmic radiation that airline passengers are already exposed to.

The largest expense, as you poit out, is the enormous costs of putting a series of power satellites into geo-synchronous orbit and will the power be distributed equally among the nations of the world, regardless of who paid for the network? I think the most important question about distribution of power is- would the world's poorer nations be better off economically and in other ways if free power is provided? I believe it would discourage citizens rush to emigrate to wealthier nations such as the U.S. and that alone would make it worth the costs.

Better lives for all can't be a bad thing. But the money to set up the network would mean we stop subsidizing fossil fuel companies at the rate of $9 trillion plus per year.

Also not a bad thing.