Every organisation, private or public has 'waste'. The thing is, it's not as easy to identify and cut away as people think.
The usual approach in public services is to say 'we're taking 2% off your budget' and leave it to managers to sort out. It's not a very scientific approach, is it? The manager may find that nearly all his/her expenditure is fixed costs. He/she may not have the power actually to make the necessary economy. For example, you can't say: 'This share of the town hall I pay for is too expensive. I want to move my team to a Nissan hut in Hartlepool.'
Then there is the attitude that some public expenditure is inherently wasteful. The thing is, we don't all agree on what it is. For example, I think having 18th-century uniforms and horses for the army is not a good use of part of the defence budget. Many, many people would disagree, In fact, they would disagree strongly. However, it's only an example. You could argue that the NHS wastes money keeping over-80s alive. It's a point of view. It depends on your humanity and whether you think expenditure should have some sort of return. You could debate this sort of shit for aeons. What actually happens is that people just bumble on with whatever money/resources there are.
