Efficiency, a foreign concept in government?

Government bureaucracies are almost inherently inefficient and often their mission simply becomes to "self-replicate", that is find goals to stay relevant and expand their budget. To this end I think Non-profits have become a great outlet for relieving bureaucratic inefficiency. 1 person from the government overseas numerous operation in their field. These operations have a set budget, grant funded by the government, with stated goals that they must meet. If these goals are not met then the grants are taken away and people lose their jobs, basic accountability. It makes for a much more efficient machine than the bureaucratic structure of government. I don't think non-profits are the end-all to fix the problem but I think they are part of the solution.

I now work at county level and still see inefficiencies in some areas, but based on my experience working at federal, state, and county levels, I honestly believe that the programs managed at higher levels inherently have more inefficiencies than those managed at local levels. There are many examples of this throughout our history (the most telling, in my opinion, is the development of the Department of Education at the Federal level).
I believe this is the best argument we have against a larger Federal government.