Quoted 'costs' of rescue are often skewed to sound more dramatic/excessive than they really are. They are usually based on an a/craft costing £X thousand/per hour and by the time the rescue took. In reality, the aircraft would still be flying somewhere else and the crew would still be paid if they were training rather than rescuing. Yes, there would often be SOME additional cost but nowhere near the figures quoted.
As regards JJ, I have read his book and found it interesting and inspirational. He didn't appear to be out to 'make a name for himself', if fact quite the opposite. And he seemed very level headed and treated the risks seriously.
If we are going to question the cost or rescuing someone who wishes to push the boundaries now and again what type of society will we be? (or what would we be now if that attitude has prevailed over the last 100 years?).