Do you know of any stories of that happening in the past? (not that I find it hard to believe, just that examples that are hard not to believe are better than suggestions that aren't hard to believe.)

The solar subsidies in the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are regarded as a failure by partisans in both parties. I think the US is beyond fixing at this point. This $250bn is going to end up in Teslas, yachts, and Florida beach houses.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/19/upshot/biden-stimulus.htm...

Same happened in France. Public money goes to French companies which then subcontract to China, manufacture there, to import the final product in France.