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Why do governments borrow money instead of printing it?
The government could actually do either one to expand the money supply as necessary to keep up with rising productivity / an increased labor supply.  The question is merely political. In the case of the US, printing money involves convincing politicians to spend it.  While we currently run a deficit, there is a large lobby within the US who are incredibly anti-deficit, and are fighting against this for no good reason.  If the money supply were left in their hands, we would end up with a shrinking money supply and rapid deflation. On the other hand, the Fed can simply bypass the politicians, and control the money supply directly by issuing bonds.  It's easier for them, they don't have to explain it to voters (only to economists), and it gives them more direct control without any messy political considerations like which programs to expand or cut.