Keeping Everyone Pleased

There is always argument over how much control the government should have over the economy but really it just depends on who you are.  If you are the head of a large private business, then you would want as little government control as possible.  However, if you are a person who is living paycheck to paycheck then you would want as much help from the government as you can get.  It is up to the government to try to keep everyone happy.  But it is simply impossible to please everyone.  They have to determine how much they should intervene not just with the economy, but with society as a whole.

The intentions of the government should be to stimulate the market and protect it's citizens, amongst other things.  They have the power to make a lot of people very happy, but they also have the power to make a lot of people very unhappy. In order for the government to be able to make changes that will help the well being of the people, they need to have the money to do so.  If the market is not doing well then the government is also hurting because taxes decrease when people aren't making as much money.  When the government doesn't have as much money, they need to make the decision to spend the money they do have on the people or the market.  The issue is if they spend their money on the people, then the market is still hurting and the government is only losing more money.  But if they decide to spend the money on the market, then they look bad because it seems like they are forgetting about the people in need.  The challenge is finding the perfect balance of spending that will make everyone happy. One example of a way that the government tries to kill two birds with one stone is when they increase spending on creating jobs.  When more people are employed, then there is simply more money in the pockets of the consumers.  These consumers then spend their money and stimulate the market.

Source: http://www.wwnorton.com/college/polisci/wtp7e/full/ch/16/chapterreview.aspx
This source is credible because it is out of a text book called An Introduction to American Politics

How often does the government make decisions that only really benefit one side?