Iter is cheap. Its level of funding is many magnitudes lower than the level of funding for other hopeless causes, for instance, arming the US citizenry to the teeth including primary school teachers, giving tax relief to political organizations that are churches, the war on drugs, the war on terrorists. That is a fact of life. The rewards of break even for Iter are a step in the direction of a more stable environment, sustainable energy production, and better public health. It is worth it as was the failure of gasahol, if it keeps keeps the further goal in the public mind.