Let me get this straight.
Madoff’s evil was that he promised great returns to get people to give him more money. He then used the new money to pay off the original people, making it look like he had earned money for them, so that more people would see it and have confidence in him, and continue to invest money, continue to be “pay-inners”.
That’s a classic ponzi scheme.
“Pay-inners” is too awkward. Let’s use another term.
Because honestly, I don’t see the difference between a Ponzi scheme and “government stimulus”, right down to the stated intent being to maintain/restore confidence in the system.