Technically both could be right, but technicalities make me crazy. Sure the government contracted with road contractors, or hired highway department people to build roads. However, how did they pay for them? Was it not with tax dollars? Who pays taxes? 53% of the population pays taxes currently, and most small, medium, and large businesses. 47% pay no taxes, and even get money back (redistribution, but let's save that for another time), yet they use the roads. They have the opportunity to use that infrastructure to make money, and build a business. Black Markets do not pay taxes, generally, but gangs still use the roads. And frankly, when larger businesses open a head quarters many local laws usually require them or the building's owner to improve the roads going to their building.
My wife and I own a small business. I have yet to have a politician volunteer to work a day in our store, so we could have a day off. We have had about 6 days off in the last two years. We are open about 65 hours a week. Our family does help, but not once has a public official even offered to help us meet the rent. We are in our mid 50's, and have never been 'rich' by any definition. In the 1980's we lived on as little as $13,000/ year. In the early 2000's through 2010, our income did advance to the middle to upper $40's. But we had a dream, a dream to leave our family better off, a dream to help people, a dream to control our own lives. Owning a business, by the way, may not be the best way to do that, especially in the economy of today. We work those hours, we push our business, to succeed. If we fail, then no one else loses money but us. We believe we are building our business, and we're damn proud of it! But, we did not pay for the roads, or is it we did not contract to build the roads, you see we have paid taxes.
This debate does highlight the two major trains of thought today. It can be summed up by answering this question: Who is better able to effectively spend capital to boost the economy? If you answer government, as the Democrats generally do, you believe that individuals are unable to make decisions to benefit society. Individuals like Thomas Edison, or Henry Ford had ideas that did benefit society, Bernie Maddoff's idea did not. If you answer individuals, then how can we make sure that these individuals do have our interests in mind? Aren't there a lot of money grubbing scheming business people? For most of the United States history, the latter answer has ruled the day, then laws were enacted to keep the individual honest. Private organizations, like the Better Business Bureau were established, again to foster honesty and fair dealing. Unlike the modern European model, based in part on the feudalistic societies their economies came from, where government can determine what is needed and where, then if you get their approval, and live within their laws can open a business.
So the last question: Why has the United States in the 20th and 21st century been the largest economy? We are blessed with resources, but others have more. We have a lot of people, but other countries have more. Perhaps it is our Constitution and the mostly hands off approach that has made us successful. The Soviet Union's centralized government couldn't best us. The English government was run over by us in the days after WWII. The Chinese are the only centralized government that seems poised to overtake us, and that government, has allowed a fairly open reform to achieve that. And, they haven't bested us yet, only time will tell. Open government, that writes minimal regulations to protect the population from scoundrels, but otherwise butts out of business has worked here since the beginning, there is no other system that has worked as well, why would we change now?
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