Post by pavel on Feb 22, 2016 3:39:02 GMT -6
Syracuse University political scientist Chris Faricy is the author of the newly published book Welfare for the Wealthy. The book has been called "critically important" by Martin Gilens, professor of politics at Princeton University, and "eye-opening" by Theda Skocpol, Victor S. Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology at Harvard University.
Faricy kindly answered some questions via email. A lightly edited transcript is below.
Q: The conventional wisdom is that the Democrats want to expand government and Republicans want to shrink it. But you argue "a vote for the Republican Party is not necessarily a vote for smaller government." Why is that?
A: The Republican Party is not immune from electoral pressures to use the federal government to benefit Republican constituencies. The main difference between Democrats and Republicans is not whether to spend federal money, but rather who those constituencies are.
For the GOP, two important groups are wealthier households and businesses. Republicans have pursued policies that benefit both--things like government subsidies for IRAs and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).
Read more: www.arkansasonline.com/news/2016/feb/21/a-welfare-state-for-the-wealthy-2016022/
Faricy kindly answered some questions via email. A lightly edited transcript is below.
Q: The conventional wisdom is that the Democrats want to expand government and Republicans want to shrink it. But you argue "a vote for the Republican Party is not necessarily a vote for smaller government." Why is that?
A: The Republican Party is not immune from electoral pressures to use the federal government to benefit Republican constituencies. The main difference between Democrats and Republicans is not whether to spend federal money, but rather who those constituencies are.
For the GOP, two important groups are wealthier households and businesses. Republicans have pursued policies that benefit both--things like government subsidies for IRAs and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).
Read more: www.arkansasonline.com/news/2016/feb/21/a-welfare-state-for-the-wealthy-2016022/