Isn't the "PHP works on cheap hosting" schtick a bit dated now you can get a dual-cpu VPS with 8GB RAM at hetzner.com for 8.90 Euros per month? Commodity hosting now makes JVM apps feasible at the lowest price points.
Ok, so yesterday's shared hosting prices are today's VPS rates. The point is they've both become commoditised so the PHP/cheap hosting argument is no longer valid.