People have good reason to demand decent public education and a well - funded health system, to yearn for an economy that doesn't trash the environment or for a smaller gap between rich and poor. Almost without exception, sound economics is on their side. We've grown used to public debates that pit people and the planet against an abstract, distorted image of 'the economy', but it doesn't have to be this way. Governomics shows that an emaciated state is bad for business, and that standing up for government means standing up for a public sector that truly serves the public.