And those 50,000 systems would be operational for 20+ years. That kind of investment would bolster the solar industry and further raise public awareness of the beauty of having their own system.

In contrast that money now is going to support poor, short-term profit, decisions by large corporations. After ~2030 we'll still be in the same mess we currently are: power companies begging for handouts to decommission the plant and then leaving the US government to watch over the waste in perpetuity.

That is the definition of a shabby investment.