That sounds to me as a product of something I see a lot of in society in general. Governments think hoi polloi are stupid, and they are clever, and therefore solutions imposed from above are superior to local solutions.

I think that's a misdiagnosis. The suggestions of the "hoi polloi" are obvious, and would solve the problem. Government prefers instead a solution that is both cheaper, so they can instead direct funds to things that they prefer, and more indirect, so they can route funds through friends and family.

The government's main effort is to complicate or denounce the "obvious" solutions. It's why they put so little effort into devising the programs that actually get rolled out; instead they just copy them directly from some non-profit that the government has been indirectly and almost entirely financing, and is directed by The Honorable Lord or Lady Somebody's Cousin.