"Keep your government hands off my Medicare " Such comments
spotlight a central question animating Suzanne Mettler's
provocative and timely book: why are many Americans unaware of
government social benefits and so hostile to them in principle,
even though they receive them? The Obama administration has been
roundly criticized for its inability to convey how much it has
accomplished for ordinary citizens. Mettler argues that this
difficulty is not merely a failure of communication; rather it is
endemic to the formidable presence of the "submerged state."
In recent decades, federal policymakers have increasingly shunned
the outright disbursing of benefits to individuals and families and
favored instead less visible and more indirect incentives and
subsidies, from tax breaks to payments for services to private
companies. These submerged policies, Mettler shows, obscure the
role of government and exaggerate that of the market. As a result,
citizens are unaware not only of the benefits they receive, but of
the massive advantages given to powerful interests, such as
insurance companies and the financial industry. Neither do they
realize that the policies of the submerged state shower their
largest benefits on the most affluent Americans, exacerbating
inequality. Mettler analyzes three Obama reforms--student aid, tax
relief, and health care--to reveal the submerged state and its
consequences, demonstrating how structurally difficult it is to
enact policy reforms and even to obtain public recognition for
achieving them. She concludes with recommendations for reform to
help make hidden policies more visible and governance more
comprehensible to all Americans.
The sad truth is that many American citizens do not know how major
social programs work--or even whether they benefit from them.
Suzanne Mettler's important new book will bring government policies
back to the surface and encourage citizens to reclaim their voice
in the political process.
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