Title: The submerged state
Description: 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 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. The author 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.
Subjects: Politics and government, Democracy, Social policy, Public opinion, Attitudes, Public welfare, Americans, Public welfare, united states, United states, social policy, United states, politics and government, 21st century, POLITICAL SCIENCE, Public Policy, General, Demokratie, Sozialpolitik, Öffentliche Meinung, Umschulungswerkstätten für Siedler und Auswanderer
Places: United States
Time periods: 21st century