Human beings constantly learn how to do more and more with less and less. The latest example is a field microscope that doesn’t even need a lens, and that can be made for less than $10.
This micro-scope was developed at CalTech, so it was probably done with government funding. Frankly, funding research is probably one of the best things the government does with our money. But wouldn’t we have even more of this kind of research if government spent less, borrowed less, and taxed less? Most government programs tend to consume more and more resources to accomplish less and less. If we reduced that burden on society we could have more resources to spend on learning how to do more things using fewer resources.