Synopses & Reviews
Can governments do anything right? Can they do anything at all about the problems of poverty and inequality? Despite the recent boom in the U.S. economy, many millions of Americans have been left behind. Poverty rates remain higher than in most other industrialized countries. Income inequality has increased sharply. Yet we are sometimes told that government cannot or should not do anything about it: either these problems are hopeless, or government action is inevitably wasteful and inefficient, or globalization has made governments impotent.
What Government Can Do argues, on the contrary, that federal, state, and local governments can and should do a great deal. Benjamin I. Page and James R. Simmons detail what programs have worked and how they can be improved, while introducing the general reader to the fundamentals of social insurance programs such as Social Security and Medicaid, tax structures, minimum wage laws, educational programs, and the concept of "basic needs." Through their discussions of high-profile campaign plans, proposals, successes, and failures, they have written a readable, optimistic, and clear-headed book on government and poverty. And they find that, contrary to popular belief, government policies already do, in fact, help alleviate poverty and economic inequality. Often these policies work far more effectively and efficiently than people realize, and in ways that enhance freedom rather than infringe on it. At the same time, Page and Simmons show how even more could be-and should be-accomplished.
The authors advocate many sweeping policy changes while acknowledging political obstacles (such as the power of money and organized interests in American politics) that may stand in the way. Yet even those who disagree with their recommendations will come away with a deepened understanding of how social and economic policies actually work. Exploring ideas often ignored in Beltway political discourse, What Government Can Do challenges all Americans to raise the level of public debate and improve our public policies.
Synopsis
It is often said that the federal government cannot or should not attempt to address America's problems of poverty and inequalityand#8212;because its bureaucracy is wasteful or its programs ineffective. But is this true? In this book, Benjamin I. Page and James R. Simmons examine a number of federal and local programs, detailing what government action already does for its citizens and assessing how efficient it is at solving the problems it seeks to address. Their conclusion, surprisingly, is the polar opposite of the prevailing rhetoricand#8212;
What Government Can Do is an insightful and compelling argument that it both can and should do more.
About the Author
Benjamin I. Page is the Gordon Scott Fulcher Professor of Decision Making in the Department of Political Science at Northwestern University.
James R. Simmons is a professor in and chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh.
Table of Contents
Preface
1. Introduction
The Inequality Express
Inept or Impotent Government?
What Can Be Done
Plan of the Book
2. Poverty and Inequality in the United States
Economic Growth, Markets, and Americans' Incomes
Poverty in the United States
Income Inequality in America
3. What Should Government Do?
Theories of Government Functions
Approaches to Poverty and Inequality
Political and Economic Obstacles
Overcoming the Obstacles
4. Social Insurance
Old Age and Survivors Insurance (Social Security)
Disability Insurance
Unemployment Insurance
Medical Insurance
The Politics of Social Insurance
Improving Social Insurance
5. Fair Taxes
The Idea of Progressivity
Federal Taxes
State and Local Taxes
Taxes and Inequality
Tax Politics
6. Investing in Education
Who Should Provide Education?
Children and Equal Opportunity
Elementary and Secondary Schools
Training for Work
Higher Education
The Politics of Education
Improving Education
7. Jobs and Good Wages
Managing the Economy
Jobs and Spending on Public Goods
Job Training and Placement
Creating Jobs
Raising Wages
International Economic Policy
Job Politics
Improving Employment and Wages
8. "Safety Nets" and Basic Needs
Circus Imagery versus Economic Rights
Food
Housing
Medical Care
Income Maintenance
Politics: The War against the Poor
The Right to Basic Necessities
9. Conclusion
Programs That Work
What Remains to Be Done
Overcoming Political and Economic Obstacles
Government for the People
Notes
References
Index