> Government can sometimes change things by deficit spending on infrastructure, but that's a tough sell to voters somehow.

Because it is not free market economic activity governed by real demand. It is just government officials deciding to use other peoples money to create demand in certain sectors.

If people in a community pooled their own money together to build a new bridge then you'd have economic activity that is created due to real demand and there would be a real incentive to make sure they are not overpaying or that their money is wasted.

But when the government does it you end up building natural gas filling stations in Afghanistan for millions of dollars servicing a total of 3 cars running on natural gas in that country which on top of that has to be rebuilt multiple times because the Taliban bomb it again and again.