Government is the way a society organizes itself and allocates authority in order to accomplish collective goals and provide benefits that the society as a whole needs. The goal of governments around the world is economic prosperity for the people, public safety and security, social benefits like education and healthcare, and providing a stable environment in which businesses can flourish.
People elect representatives to local city councils, state legislatures, Congress, and other federal legislative bodies who make laws and fulfill other governing responsibilities. These bodies also impose taxes on citizens and businesses to raise revenue for services. On the local level, this means money is allotted for things like police departments, fire departments, libraries, and schools. Governments regulate access to common goods like natural resources and utilities. This is important because common goods are limited and if too many people use them, there may not be enough left for everyone to enjoy.
In the United States, there are three branches of government: The legislative branch makes laws, the executive branch runs Federal agencies and departments, and the judicial branch decides whether a law is constitutional. Each branch has specific exclusive powers and a system of checks and balances that ensures no one branch becomes too powerful. For example, the Senate must approve (give “advice and consent”) all Presidential nominations for cabinet officers, federal judges, and U.S. ambassadors to foreign countries, and a bill for raising revenue must pass both chambers of the legislature before becoming a law.