Keynesian economics teaches that consumption is what drives economic growth. Keynes was the economist Washington listened to in the 1930s in order to recover from the Depression. His view was that government works projects would "stimulate" the economy and grow it, the idea being that when the private sector wasn't driving consumption, the government could take over and force that to happen with these programs. Keynes also got on the radio back then and encouraged housewives to shop for the good of their economy (I think he primarily did this in Britain, but it illustrated his belief). The idea that war and natural disasters are good for the economy can be traced back to Keynesian thought, and the mass media drive encouraging consumption (led by Edward Bernays back in the day) is following the lead first established by Keynes.