Government taxes and spends less in the United States than in most other rich countries, and much of our political debate centers on how much to cut from key programs. I argue that in coming decades we're likely to move in the other direction. Public spending -- particularly on policies that enhance economic security, expand opportunity, and ensure shared prosperity -- will increase rather than decrease.
Lane Kenworthy is professor of sociology and political science at the University of Arizona. He studies the causes and consequences of living standards, poverty, inequality, mobility, employment, economic growth, social policy, taxes, public opinion, and politics in the United States and other affluent countries. He is the author of Progress for the Poor (2011), Jobs with Equality (2008), Egalitarian Capitalism (2004), and In Search of National Economic Success (1995). His current book projects are Social Democratic America and Should We Worry About Inequality? (with Christopher Jencks). He also writes on these topics at his blog, Consider the Evidence.