Economics professor Steve Horwitz explains this seemingly simple point in this Freeman essay.
Seemingly simple points often elude statists and “progressives” who wish to believe that all we need to do is have the government “stimulate” consumer demand in order to achieve high employment and prosperity. That cannot work, as we know from the great inflations of history — inundating the country with borrowed or printed money does not lead to prosperity, but does the opposite. The state never does anything to enhance the efficiency with which the people use their scarce resources.