A government can only succeed if the people it governs. The measure of its success is measured by the quality of life enjoyed by the population, achieved with a well-balanced budget. This budget is entirely financed by taxes imposed on the population, which are then allocated to the different ministries and programs. It goes without saying that how the government spends its money has a big influence on the economy, both in the short and long term. Although government spending has the potential to stimulate the economy, this essay will explain why the opposite result is more likely to occur in the short term. It will be demonstrated, by analyzing monetary flows and the economies of certain countries, that public spending has little economic benefit and does not create new jobs. However, under the right circumstances, public spending can prove beneficial to a country's long-term economic growth. Before the government can spend money, it must first acquire that money. The two options available to a government are either to increase taxes or to redistribute money from within, from one ministry to another. Of course, it is also possible to simply print more money, but that will inflate the dollar and is definitely not the right way to increase a budget (Ahlseen). Either way, the money must be borrowed elsewhere, either from the population or from the economy. When this money is then reinjected into the economy, its effects are not immediate. On the contrary, it has immediate negative effects on taxes, on the population's incentive to invest and on the private sector. It has been established that taxes need to be increased to provide the government with more spending money. As a r...... middle of paper ......economic freedom of a country. Since a government's revenue comes from taxes, countries with a high percentage of government spending tend to have lower freedom indices. The best place to put money is in the hands of the people, who are able to spend it more efficiently than the government. Throughout this essay, it has been proven that government spending does little to boost economic growth. This was demonstrated by explaining that government spending only redistributes money from the economy and that government spending does not create new jobs. The case where public spending can be beneficial has also been explained. This could be accomplished by investing in programs that will increase overall productivity in each sector. Public spending must be viewed in a capitalist manner. Less public spending means a freer population.