[sjwright]

And while we all would prefer greater efficiency in government, an inefficient government is still universally preferable to an absent or non-functioning government.

Also, if that inefficiency is in the form of salaries or domestic spending, it's only partly wasted as it adds to movement of money in the economy.

[conanbatt]

God no. The broken window fallacy comes back from 1830, before Bastiat.

If you pay someone to do nothing you waste both the money you used that could have gone to something useful and the time of the person that would have done something else, hopefully productive, instead.

[sjwright]

That assumes that a maximally efficient economy is also the maximally desirable. I strongly disagree. (Though if a generous UBI was already in place, I could change my mind...)

[conanbatt]

No, it just debunks that the idea of burning peoples time is a benefit for society.