What are the economic functions of our government?

Economic Functions of the Government

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The state of a nation hugely depends on how well it is governed . The numerous functions of a government are too overwhelming that it is inevitable to overlook one aspect of the many tasks of a sovereign However , one aspect is too big to be overlooked . The economic functions of the government are one of the most , if not the most important , tasks of a sovereign

The United States of America is known for its giant economy . It is home

br to the largest businesses and is hailed as the richest country in the world . However , recent happenings have greatly affected the economy . The US troops won 't pull out . Stocks continue to go down . The almighty dollar weakens . And the concatation of events just continue to go against us

The impact of the economy trickles down from top to bottom . It affects each and every American and the United States , being the powerful country that it is , affects the whole world as well . Any negative occurrence in the country plays a domino effect from one American to the economy of the rest of the world

So what are the economic functions of our government ? What are its roles for improving our lives and the rest of the world ? Adam Smith may be well-remembered for his Wealth of Nations , laissez fare (the people is better off without the government ) and his strong opposition on the government . He saw a limited role for it with regard to the economic functions . It is just appropriate to start off the discussion of the economic functions of the government by stating the ones that Smith only believed in . These , for a fact , are adhered up to now

The first function is that the government should provide public goods and services . Examples of public goods are national defense and street lights . Before proceeding any further , it is relevant that the definition of public goods and its difference from private goods be discussed . From the term itself , public goods are goods that can be consumed by the public . Thus , non-excludability is present Non-excludability means that when goods are created , the exclusion of consumption will never be possible . On the other hand , private goods are those consumed privately . A good example of comparing private and public goods would be a burger and national defense , respectively . A burger can only be eaten by one person only . So when one person eats it , no one else can . However , if the government spends billions of dollars on national government (which is what they are doing now , each and every person who live in the country is having the privilege of getting protection and security . Another function of a public good and which Adam Smith has specifically mentioned (aside from national defense ) as one of the vital functions of the government is to set up a facilitation of certain public works and institutions . It is evident that roads and high ways are essential...