The government needs to take over things which are not viable for the private sector, but important for society to work.

Lets say privatisation of public transport: In countries where it is completely private, only major cities have reasonable connections. Because those are the most profitable ones. But if you want people to actually use public transport, you need to have a fine and widely spread net of connections. For that to happen either the state completely owns the public transport, or takes off financial pressure and only partially owns it.

Exactly this mechanism enables (partially) state owned organizations to run suboptimal. As explained in the example, this is a desired effect. But it also enables memes like the lazy state employee - which are at least partially true.

Typically this is something I hear more commonly within businesses.

Unsurprisingly the business thinks business is the most efficient way to run anything.

I mean, I'm not arguing for private companies, but our government is quite spectacularly inefficient at anything except generating prime ministers! Mind you, they may be trying to be worse than the private sector so they cna claim the private sector is more efficient than the government, I guess...

Which government?

"I made a meme depicting your claim with a mocking Spongebob, therefore your argument is invalid."

I work for my local government and everybody means well but are hampered by a lack of funding. I complete a statutory required role, that is one of the two key performance indicators and it needs 2 people full time and I'm the only person on it.

My guy. The government can't even make a budget and gave trillions of dollars away to commit genocide. They're both bad but the government is worse.

Honestly I was expecting more dogshit takes in the comments. Anyway everyone should read Elizabeth Anderson’s book “Private Government”

Even if the are more efficient, they earned the regarding profit for a small number of people, who has to much. For the society it is a loose loose. The services become more expensive and it lead to a redistribution of wealth from poor to rich, whitch is even worse for the society and the economy.