The more extra steps the more ethically murky it gets. Is creating a regulatory environment where public infrastructure construction and maintenance prices soa

The more extra steps the more ethically murky it gets. Is creating a regulatory environment where public infrastructure construction and maintenance prices soar to astronomical levels because you have three people getting paid hourly to supervise one guy who's running a pavement miller "welfare" or is it crony capitalism for the construction industry? I'm fine with welfare, but thinly veiled handouts to politically connected groups seems a hell of a lot less efficient way to better society than just directly funding or tax-incentivizing homeless shelters and food pantries. Also some of the shadier cases of "well if you put a positive spin on it then this is just welfare" behavior are too graft-like for my tastes.