It's a little more complex than that.
Certainly our government spent far smarter than the U.S. government, but when you're talking about a ratio of six to one, even a bit of clumsiness still gets you more results. The big difference we've seen is that at a time in which everyone was struggling to stay alive, the Americans were able to pay down their debt. That was a huge advantage for them, but it did not create the incentive for improving efficiency.