What's the data here? Didn't "the government" create the internet, tons of medical research, the interstate highway system, etc?

Meanwhile Joe Schmoe bought yet another iPad (which wouldn't exist without the government inventing much of computer tech) to go in a landfill in two years. But at least he funded Apple's ability to make a brand new, basically identical model, next year.

How do we measure who has a "good" track record on spending money?

Just ask anyone who has worked for the US Government, Military, or contractors.

To avoid pure anecdotes, the Government Accountability Office actually studies this every year: https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-20-440sp ...

That's not to say I don't believe in government spending. I don't know that there is a much better solution, and any conglomeration of humans is going to have roughly equal capacity for doing the right thing and doing the wrong thing, hopefully weighted more towards the "right" thing with solid leadership...

I don't think that supports your premise. That's like a company report showing where it wasn't spending its money optimally. All institutions, public and private, waste money in some way.