It might be compared to a man driving his Rolls Royce for a few years and then dumping it into the ocean.
... or like launching the the huge external fuel tank right up to the edge of a stable orbit, and tossing it back into the atmosphere so it would burn up rather than keep it in space to use as future building materials. The short-sightedness of government would be astounding if it weren't so horribly obvious that it is purposeful. They have no intention of ever allowing a true habitat to be built in space.