Yes, SpaceX tests a rocket and it goes "boom," but that's not what's going on here in terms of philosophy.

Test to failure is just testing to it's limit. Sure, it's early, but blowing up rockets it's how they got here, and it got them results.

they work for the government.

I don't think many people consider that a positive, government means bureaucracy and being at the orders of the idiots at Congress, which means nothing gets done.

Falcon 9 for example could have been obsolete already in the early 2000s if the government wasn't dumb enough to cancel the development of VentureStar.

And lets not forget the SLS could have been ready by 2009 if it wasn't for Congress being almost schizophrenic about what NASA should do.