What is the Process to Develop an Economic Policy that Provides Services and Sustainability?

This is a tough question and I think that opinion varies quite a bit on this topic. The process to develop an economic policy that provides services and sustainability I think is one that has more of the people's influence rather than the government controlling everything. The government should have some control I think because they should make sure that the policy is being followed, but its tough to say how it should be done.  
This is what I used to think, however, after reading the chapter in The Politics of Power by Katznelson, Kesselman and Draper entitled Economic Policy, I feel differently.  I think that the government should control more of our economy than I once thought and I found that our economy is not really controlled very much by our government, it is one of the most loosely controlled as a matter of fact.  In this chapter, the authors state, "...[F]requent complaints about "big government",the size of the public sector in the United States is actually quite small when viewed comparatively...For example the tax burden on American citizens is actually quite light compared to other advanced industrial countries.  No advanced industrialized country collects a lower proportion of its GDP in the form of taxes than the United States"(Katznelson, Kesselman, Draper, 298).  I always felt like our government was so over involved in everything and that is just not the case.  Really, the government should be more involved in some aspects and even though we as an American society are used to the way things have been, we should be taxed more and have more regulation.  It's hard to say.  After reading this chapter, I also realized what went into making an economic policy.  Taxes are considered, fiscal policy is considered, many things...also, the budget is something that is hard to figure out.  For example right now, our government was about to shut down because they could not agree on the budget and how money should be spent.  It is tough to decide on an economic policy let alone develop one that provides services and sustainability.  In the conclusion of this chapter, the authors state, "Economic policy sets the balance between markets and government.  What is so remarkable about this in the United States is the degree to which markets are granted wide latitude at the expense of government to determine who gets what and how much"(Katznelson, Kesselman, Draper, 317).  So I am not sure how to answer the question.  I think that the government just needs to have more involvement and that the government needs regulate our economy in a better way  We need to cut spending on welfare I think and help more at home than abroad, probably tax us more, even though we don't want that...it is hard to please us all.