[jiggawatts]

It's a nearly literal strawman because they're nearly literally setting money on fire.

Sure, they do first use the money to make stuff, but then they're setting that stuff on fire.

ITER is a single-use project in the same sense that NASA orders the single-use SLS rockets from ULA.

If it's possible to develop economical fusion power, I very strongly suspect that it will happen whether or not the ITER project runs to its conclusion.

Conversely, ITER and DEMO put together are not going to result in fusion power. That's the official plan. A subsequent commercial plant might, but we're talking well after the 2060s before that can happen. The DEMO reactor isn't scheduled to start operations until the 2050s!