Because, demonstrably, it does. A lot of folks hate the very idea of social spending, but one thing that my dad noticed over time is that when he talked to a fast food restaurant owner in Orange, SC (fairly poor area) they said that their business would not survive without the social assistance provided to the area.
It’s fair to question whether Orange, SC should be kept alive as a going concern, but this franchise owner was able to employ ~20 people because of the social assistance funds provided to the community. His employees would be able to spend their paycheques, too.
Investments in infrastructure provide much the same value (as in the TVA, which did more for pulling Tennessee out of its deep poverty than anything else). Investments without spending associated with those investments are dead money. While savings should be encouraged so as to reduce individuals’ emergency needs for money, they don't keep an economy going as much as spending does.
(And yes, that pains me to say as someone who doesn’t like our consumer culture even as I participate in it because it’s what we have. I don't have a rightful solution to that dichotomy.)
It’s fair to question whether Orange, SC should be kept alive as a going concern, but this franchise owner was able to employ ~20 people because of the social assistance funds provided to the community. His employees would be able to spend their paycheques, too.
Investments in infrastructure provide much the same value (as in the TVA, which did more for pulling Tennessee out of its deep poverty than anything else). Investments without spending associated with those investments are dead money. While savings should be encouraged so as to reduce individuals’ emergency needs for money, they don't keep an economy going as much as spending does.
(And yes, that pains me to say as someone who doesn’t like our consumer culture even as I participate in it because it’s what we have. I don't have a rightful solution to that dichotomy.)