none, well, then there’s no counter-narrative. People will only see the downside of
regulation and not the upside.
There’s another counter-narrative to the “common knowledge” that the government
screws up everything. The military, a highly respected institution among working-class
whites, does a good job of providing many services that government supposedly cannot
provide well, notably child care.^244 (Alas, the waiting time fiascos at the VA are not
helping the agency’s reputation.)
It will take a sustained effort to change Americans’ attitude toward government—but
then it took a long time to get where we are today.^245 Millions of dollars have been spent
teaching Americans to distrust their government. It’s time for some spending to point out
all the ways government at every level, and particularly the federal government, helps the
have-a-littles, not just the have-nots. Changing working-class attitudes will require a mind
shift for progressives whose instinct has been to highlight the benefits of government help
for the poor. Again, that strategy only hurts the poor—and everyone else—in the long
run.
A little information goes a long way. Mettler describes a 2007 study in which Americans
were given information about which groups benefited from the Earned Income Tax
Credit (EITC). Afterwards, 68% of respondents said that the program should be
expanded.^246 (It’s important to remember that the EITC helps families who are working.
I doubt the same result would have been reached if people were asked about TANF and
food stamps.)
Mettler argues against tax expenditures—subsidies delivered through the tax code—and
for direct government provisioning. She also suggests redesigning government procedures
that make government subsides more salient. I think it was great that the Obama
administration shifted student loans away from banks to the government,^247 and that the
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been active in advocating on students’
behalf.^248 But tax expenditures and privatization are here to stay, alas, because both
make it easier to assemble a legislative coalition.^249
A while back, I floated the idea of an internet campaign modeled on the highly influential
“It Gets Better” Project, in which people post short videos about their own lives designed
to reassure gay youth that they have a future worth living for. I proposed to have
Americans make short videos of their daily lives, thanking the government for some
service or benefit that makes those lives possible—highways, the internet, sewer systems,
- Why Don’t the People Who Benefit Most from Government Help Seem to Appreciate It?