(Can’t remember the source of this idea).
Governments SHOULD do inefficient things. If those things were efficient and profitable, then business would do them but we need governments to do the things that don’t have an immediate payoff.
An example, building roads and other infrastructure to connect rural communities. No business would do this as it wouldn’t be worth the ROI, governments should and many businesses benefit as well as the residents.
This doesn’t mean governments can’t/shouldn’t be more efficient and seek to limit waste, but judging a government by a corporation is dangerous.