Add to that the now granddaddy of cock ups, Kiwibuild. And already in 2019 you have a couple of spectacular failures in a year that was supposed to be the exact opposite.
Which is why I hope the PGF isn't going to get tossed on the heap of hopelessness where bad ideas go to die.
The PGF is having a bad week. The Auditor General is now involved. The job numbers as quoted smack of a lack of delivery, if they're not a joke.
And now we have broken down the numbers to show what potentially is an alarming amount of money going to a comparative handful of people.
To be fair to the fund, I accept Winston Peter's explanation to me earlier in the week that none of this happens overnight. It could be a slow burn.
But over half the money - $1.7 billion - has been allocated and $750 million of it already spent. The bulk has gone to the West Coast, the East Cape, and Northland.
What's potentially frightening is that already the coast has over $4000 per head of population, and the East Cape has $3000. Double that for the $1.7 billion allocated, and it's $8000 and $6000 respectively. If the trend continues, by the time the entire $3 billion is handed out next year, it's $16,000 and $12,000.
That's $16,000 per person on the West Coast. For a family of four that's $64,000. That's more than the average wage. Is that a growth fund, or welfare? We give similar amounts per head to the Pacific Islands and call it aid.
It's much less in Northland, but that reflects a greater population base.
The point though is how much is enough? And if it's more than the average wage to an average house, are we giving a helping hand, or have we just created a giant welfare net from which there is no escape?
Also complicating matters is confusion. A regional theatre wants help; and someone texted me saying a bridge in Southland could be fixed. This is a growth fund, not a stop-gap for regional council failure.
And this is the worry for me. I like the idea, I've always liked the basic premise of this.
There is no doubt parts of this country have been under-funded or ignored, there is no doubt there are a lot of good ideas that could use a helping hand, there is no doubt sometimes it's really only a government that will provide the initial spark.
But at 550 jobs after $750 million has been spent, and the queue of questions growing by the day - not to mention the government's failure to actually get stuff off the ground - the PGF of today doesn't look as flash as the idea that came out of the box just 18 months ago.
