The government does, actually: Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution explicitly gives Congress the power "to collect taxes; to coin money and regulate i

The government does, actually: Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution explicitly gives Congress the power "to collect taxes; to coin money and regulate its value; provide for punishment for counterfeiting", among other powers. It's just that Congress has delegated this to multiple independent organizations within the government. The U.S. Mint makes physical coins and paper money. The U.S. Treasury issues government debt. The IRS collects taxes. The Secret Service prosecutes counterfeiting. The Federal Reserve serves as the lender of last resort to the banking system. The President submits the budget, which must be approved by Congress. The division between the President, Congress, U.S. Treasury, and Federal Reserve forms a very important check on the tendency of most governments to just print money to cover government services, since different branches of government are responsible for determining how much is spent; where it's spent; where it's collected from, and under what terms it'll be repaid; and how much it's worth. But it's worth remembering that constitutionally, Congress has the power to create all of those agencies, and Congress also has the power to unmake them. I don't necessarily think that doing so is a good idea, but it's possible.