It doesn't have to be all-or-nothing. If research is a tree, and the seeds and trunk are funded by the government, then the branches and leaves are the private sector. The government's strength is providing large and longterm funding for ideas with uncertain outcome. The government's weakness is managing and running an enterprise of any scale - see the DMV, any public housing in America of appreciable size, the VA, the vast majority of public schools, and so on. This is because no one in the enterprise has any motivation at all, other than not getting fired, which is practically impossible in the government sector.
I'm fine with initial research being funded by the government, and entrepreneurs attempting to take that research to commercialize it.
I'm fine with initial research being funded by the government, and entrepreneurs attempting to take that research to commercialize it.