That's the government providing baseline competition (and non broken-window public works) to serve as something for private entities to beat.
Pragmatic considerations may override your personal beliefs in this matter. American culture strongly ties self-worth to productivity. Take away folks' ability to meaningfully contribute to society, and they will cease to see themselves as a part of that society. On the other hand, we have a strong cultural identity surrounding gun ownership, and we're seeing rapid polarization in politics. So what's the natural consequence when your populace is bored, disenfranchised and heavily armed? Sounds like a powderkeg to me
If you give people a floor like that, you have to keep them doped up enough to be content with it. Or engineer a more complacent human.