It’s week three of summer school, government edition. So far this semester we’ve looked at how the government can help make us all richer (or poorer) and how we use taxes to change behavior and show our values. This week — How does the government decide what to do with all the money it collects? Woohoo! Government spending spree!
Although it seems like the government can spend an endless amount of money, it cannot actually do all the things it wants to do. So the big question in this week’s lesson is: How do we decide? Why does the government spend so much money on some things and not on others? And honestly, is there any limit?
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The series is hosted by Robert Smith and produced by Eric Mennel. Our project manager is Devin Mellor. This episode was edited by Planet Money Executive Producer Alex Goldmark and fact-checked by Sofia Shchukina.
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