> How is it largesse when the government is doing it because it's in the public interest?

Public Choice Theory is the school of thought that the idea that government acts "because it's in the public interest" is "romantic and illusory":

  Public choice economists make the same assumption—that although people acting in the political marketplace have some concern for others, their main motive, whether they are voters, politicians, lobbyists, or bureaucrats, is self-interest. In Buchanan's words the theory "replaces... romantic and illusory... notions about the workings of governments [with]... notions that embody more skepticism." -- https://www.econlib.org/library/Enc1/PublicChoiceTheory.html