Money from the govt isn’t “extra” money that we would fail to have if the govt were not there. All govt money comes from taxpayers. The money is there with or without govt. It’s just a question of who gets to spend it.
No one doubts that the trillions of dollars spent on govt produces SOME value. All some of us are saying is that govt isn’t usually organized to be a competitive, lean provider. Consequently, we’re all economically better off to keep its role in the economy to a minimum (not zero), and to err on the side of less when there is doubt.
Yes, private companies create waste and are generally less than perfect. But they usually have some competition, and that seems to be the only effective way to keep waste levels down across an enormous range of economic activity. Or you could try central planning. Good luck with that!
