A lot of the growth of the last decade was driven by unsustainable private and public borrowing and spending. Most people in the political class are desperate to get the credit bubble-blowing machine running again, by having the state subsidize un-economic loans to un-creditworthy businesses and individuals.

Sure, although I think in this case it might be the lesser of two evils. It would definitely be nice to see the private sector funding job creation, but if they're not going to do it it's probably worth getting the government involved.