Wouldn't you say the same thing for any public funding of private ventures, why does the volume matter? I don't support the government-as-vc idea myself but no

Wouldn't you say the same thing for any public funding of private ventures, why does the volume matter? I don't support the government-as-vc idea myself but not because of any job projection numbers (real or made up). I think science and technology funding like NSF is a better way for the government to get involved in long term value/wealth/job creation in this country. The outcomes of the efforts can be more easily shared by the shared public money put in, seems more ethical to me.