The Fiscalization of Social Policy
How Taxpayers Trumped Children in the Fight Against Child Poverty
Seiten
2018
Oxford University Press Inc (Verlag)
978-0-19-084130-0 (ISBN)
Oxford University Press Inc (Verlag)
978-0-19-084130-0 (ISBN)
The earned income tax credit (EITC) and child tax credit (CTC) are tax credits for low-income families that paradoxically exclude the poorest families. This book challenges the conventional wisdom on American exceptionalism and offers the first and only comparative analysis of the politics on these important anti-poverty tax credits.
In 1970, a single mother with two children working full time at the federal minimum wage in the US received no direct cash benefits from the federal government. Today, after a period of austerity, that same mother would receive $7,572 in federal cash benefits. This money does not come from social assistance, family allowances, or other programs we traditionally see as part of the welfare state. Instead, she benefits from the earned income tax credit (EITC) and the child tax credit (CTC)--tax credits for low-income families that have become a major component of American social policy.
In The Fiscalization of Social Policy, Joshua T. McCabe challenges conventional wisdom on American exceptionalism, offering the first and only comparative analysis of the politics of tax credits. Drawing comparisons between similar developments in the UK and Canada, McCabe upends much of what we know about tax credits for low-income families. Rather than attributing these changes to anti-welfare attitudes, mobilization of conservative forces, shifts toward workfare, or racial antagonism, he argues that the growing use of tax credits for social policy was a strategic adaptation to austerity. While all three countries employ the same set of tax credits, US child poverty rates remain highest, as their tax credits paradoxically exclude the poorest families.
A critical examination of social policy over the last fifty years, The Fiscalization of Social Policy shows why the US government hasn't tackled poverty, even while it implements greater tax benefits for the poor.
In 1970, a single mother with two children working full time at the federal minimum wage in the US received no direct cash benefits from the federal government. Today, after a period of austerity, that same mother would receive $7,572 in federal cash benefits. This money does not come from social assistance, family allowances, or other programs we traditionally see as part of the welfare state. Instead, she benefits from the earned income tax credit (EITC) and the child tax credit (CTC)--tax credits for low-income families that have become a major component of American social policy.
In The Fiscalization of Social Policy, Joshua T. McCabe challenges conventional wisdom on American exceptionalism, offering the first and only comparative analysis of the politics of tax credits. Drawing comparisons between similar developments in the UK and Canada, McCabe upends much of what we know about tax credits for low-income families. Rather than attributing these changes to anti-welfare attitudes, mobilization of conservative forces, shifts toward workfare, or racial antagonism, he argues that the growing use of tax credits for social policy was a strategic adaptation to austerity. While all three countries employ the same set of tax credits, US child poverty rates remain highest, as their tax credits paradoxically exclude the poorest families.
A critical examination of social policy over the last fifty years, The Fiscalization of Social Policy shows why the US government hasn't tackled poverty, even while it implements greater tax benefits for the poor.
Joshua T. McCabe is a sociologist and the Assistant Dean of Social Sciences at Endicott College. He was previously the Associate Director at Wellesley College's Freedom Project. His research interests include economic sociology and political sociology with a focus on the comparative politics of taxation and social policy. He is especially motivated by puzzles of American exceptionalism and their practical implications for public policy.
1. American Exceptionalism Revisited
2. The Great Divergence
3. From the Era of Easy Finance to Permanent Austerity
4. Canada: Taking Children Off Welfare
5. The United Kingdom: The Children's Budget
6. The United States: Tax Relief for Families
7. Conclusion
| Erscheinungsdatum | 13.08.2018 |
|---|---|
| Zusatzinfo | 7 line drawings |
| Verlagsort | New York |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 160 x 236 mm |
| Gewicht | 476 g |
| Themenwelt | Sozialwissenschaften ► Pädagogik ► Sozialpädagogik |
| Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie | |
| ISBN-10 | 0-19-084130-3 / 0190841303 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0-19-084130-0 / 9780190841300 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
| Informationen gemäß Produktsicherheitsverordnung (GPSR) | |
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