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. 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 increases, educational programs, and the concept of basic needs. 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.