> Money changing hands is mistaking the incentive for the act itself.
I think there's more to it than that. There is no particular reason to think that money changing hands benefits the economy, or society, but there is at least one party that does benefit: the government. Every time money changes hands the government takes a share in the form of income and/or sales taxes. Ergo, there is reason for the idea that higher monetary velocity is better to be popular among both politicians and the economists who advise them.
I think there's more to it than that. There is no particular reason to think that money changing hands benefits the economy, or society, but there is at least one party that does benefit: the government. Every time money changes hands the government takes a share in the form of income and/or sales taxes. Ergo, there is reason for the idea that higher monetary velocity is better to be popular among both politicians and the economists who advise them.