Special Providence_ American Foreign Policy and How It Changed World - Walter Russell Mead

Tiger, Tiger,BurningBright 243

pressurebyevermoresophisticatedJacksonianpoliticians.Thehistory
oftheVeteransAdministrationis a greattestimonialtothepowerofthis
politicalforce.ThepoliticsofsuchissuesasAgentOrangeandGulfWar
syndrome,andtheprogressiveextensionofbenefitstolargerclassesof
veteransandquasi-veterans,recapitulatesthehistoryoftheCivilWar
pensionprogram.This is yetanotherexampleofthecontinuities in
Americanpoliticsfromgenerationtogeneration.Thevastfederalsubsi-
diesforhomeownershipwerethetwentieth-centurycounterpartstothe
HomesteadAct.Thesesubsidiesgofarbeyondthegenerousmortgage
interestandproperty-tax-deductibilityprovisionsofthetaxcode.Start-
ingwiththeNewDeal,bankregulation,FederalReservepolicy,andthe
structureofthecreditmarketshavebeenfrequentlyusedbythefederal
governmenttoimprovetheaffordabilityofhousing.
In addition to housing programs, the Social Security system-
adopted aftera classic campaignofJacksonianpoliticalactivismfor
theTownsendPlan,a depression-eraproposalcallingforregularmonthly
payments to elderly Americans as a form ofeconomic stimulus-
representsa massivecommitmentoffederalresourcestothemiddleclass.
Medicare-and especially theloophole thatallows many families to
chargeoffelderrelatives'medicalcoststothegovernmentwhilekeeping
holdoftheirhomeequityandotherresources-isanotherimmensely
popularandastronomicallyexpensiveprogramthatinessencerepresents
a massivetransferofgovernmentresourcesintoprivate,mostlymiddle-
classhands.
EvenasthesocialsafetynetworkforpoorAmericanswasbeingdis-
mantledinthe 1990s,andevenasJeffersonian,Wilsonian,andeven
Hamiltonianpoliticiansandcitizensworriedaboutthegrowthoffederal
deficitsandtheexpansionandproliferationofmiddle-classentitlements,
animportantnewclassofentitlementwasspringingup:taxcreditsand
schoolvouchersforfamilieswithchildren.Itis likelythatsuchsupports
willgrow,alongwithprogramstoreducetheburdenofcollegetuition
for the middle class; middle-class entitlements are overwhelmingly
popularwithvoters.

JacksonianForeignPolicy

ThosewholiketocastAmericanforeignpolicyasanunhealthymix

ofignorance, isolationism, and irresponsibly trigger-happy cowboy