I think the view is a bit myopic. Certainly, government projects have inertia & cost overrun. But over the last six decades, here are some of the initiatives on my mind, which couldn't have been done without government investment in technology:

* Internet, as many people pointed out already.

* Nuclear energy & commitments to nuclear projects e.g. nuclear medicine, nuclear chemistry, medical research, particle physics & major instrumentation grants

* Space technology. Ability to understand the cosmos, origins and the unanswered questions about the eventual fate of our world & mankind. Including some flattering moments such as Apollo program.

* Meteorology & mapping: This is usually the underdog. We owe a lot to meteorological studies and USGS. Humanity (not just the US) has managed to stave off famines, several natural disasters or be prepared to face the next simply because how well we have mapped earth and it's resources by remote sensing technologies, many of which are government developed or sponsored in large.

I think what is rather true is government projects are endurance races. They aren't as flashy as SpaceX or ChatGPT, but without them the next glitzy tech will be arduous to get. As with all races, one can't win everything & the slow nature of it makes us question its worth sometimes.