The Case for Big Government

by Jeff Madrick and Jeffrey Madrick

Book Overview

Political conservatives have long believed that the best government is a small government. But if this were true, noted economist Jeff Madrick argues, the nation would not be experiencing stagnant wages, rising health care costs, increasing unemployment, and concentrations of wealth for a narrow elite. In this perceptive and eye-opening book, Madrick proves that an engaged government--a big government of high taxes and wise regulations--is necessary for the social and economic answers that Americans desperately need in changing times. He shows that the big governments of past eras fostered greatness and prosperity, while weak, laissez-faire governments marked periods of corruption and exploitation. The Case for Big Government considers whether the government can adjust its current policies and set the country right. Madrick explains why politics and economics should go hand in hand; why America benefits when the government actively nourishes economic growth; and why America must reject free market orthodoxy and adopt ambitious government-centered programs. He looks critically at today's politicians--at Republicans seeking to revive nineteenth-century principles, and at Democrats who are abandoning the pioneering efforts of the Great Society. Madrick paints a devastating portrait of the nation's declining social opportunities and how the economy has failed its workers. He demonstrates that the government must correct itself to address these serious issues. A practical call to arms, The Case for Big Government asks for innovation, experimentation, and a willingness to fail. The book sets aside ideology and proposes bold steps to ensure the nation's vitality.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0691123314
• ISBN13: 9780691123318
• Release Date: October 2008
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Length: 216 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Not a "Liberal" Rant

I have recently read Henry Hazlitt's "Economics in One Lesson." In that book, Hazlitt argued that government intervention in the economy is disastrous and will be the eventual cause to our downfall. I did not wholly agree with Hazlitt. Therefore, I hoped that "The Case for Big Government" would refute Hazlitt. I was pleased to find that it did. Madrick contends that for some reason the public believes there used to be a period in American history where a truly laissez faire economy existed without the intervention of the federal government. Madrick states this is simply not true. The public has forgotten how the federal government was responsible for the selling of land in the 1800s, Jefferson's purchase of Louisiana, the implementation of tariffs to protect domestic manufacturing, subsidies for the development of railroads, laws enacted to protect civil rights, etc. Those events only occurred in the 19th century though. Many more took place during the 20th and 21st centuries. Besides the brief history lesson, Madrick provides specific evidence of how government involvement does not curtail economic expansion. One quick example includes the income tax. Madrick writes that in 1913 the income tax was two percent of GDP. In 1942, it rose to 15 percent. There should be evidence of a reduced rate of economic growth, if one believes that increased income taxes decrease economic growth, but there is no supportive evidence. Madrick provides many more examples which support an increased governmental role. In the final part of the book, Madrick presents an agenda that the government should adopt. This includes a universal pre-k program, college subsidies, universal healthcare, investment in infrastructure/energy, unemployment expansion, social security solvency, etc. [...] The book is about redistribution of wealth, which are words that are rarely spoke in the U.S. However, Madrick provides a solvent plan and evidence to support his thesis. This is not a liberal rant. Madrick is harsh on both republicans and democrats. If you are interested in an increased government that supports equality, read this book.

historical perspective bought up-to-date

Jeff Madrick presents an historical outline of an active U.S. government and how it must maintain an active role if we are to continue our prosperity through a mainly capitalist economic system.

a big argument for sane political discourse

Republicans seem to be in denial that we already have a huge government. the difference is that Republicans support big govt. for the sake of the warfare state, while demos for the welfare state. what about statistic that 80% of R & D at universities is supported directly or indirectly by the Pentagon? Americans need to understand that all the investment in the military produces end products that either are destroyed (bombs, bullets) or wear out (trucks, guns). that investment if applied to civilian life would produce permanent end products such as houses, infrastructure improvements and the like. your statistics on income disparity and stagnation are very sobering. i left america to move overseas after college in 1982 and returned in 2005. hardly recognized the nation. people work much harder for much less. quality of life plummets. nature of media is like a vast dumbed down propaganda machine. impression that the country is one vast intellectual prison camp. it also seems to me that the debate on health care and the refusal to seriously consider the single payer option used in many european countries indicates that americans no longer have a sense of social contract. the mass media also is so corporately driven that it is able to shape the debate on any particular issue according to the dictates of wall st. and the financier class. our country has become in all but name a third world nation of gross social and economic inequality. The only things I found disappointing in your book were: a. your discussion of globalization. your proposal that the US pressure its trading partners to improve their wage structures and environmental efforts seems hopelessly naive, especially since US wages are so regressive themselves. b. your failure to address the perceived corruption of the federal reserve central banking system. since the release of aaron russo's film America from Freedom to Fascism, there is a growing perception among the public that the federal reserve is an elitist system that serves the narrow interests of the financier class to the detriment of the public as a whole and that serves to concentrate greater levels of wealth into Wall St. institutions. there is a sense that the Fed is a massive disinformation program designed to dupe the public. there even is a spreading belief that the entire fractional reserve banking system is hopelessly corrupted and permits the banks to obtain obscene profits and to dilute the money supply. (consider that for every $1 paid out by banks in interest payments to savings account holders, they accrue $20 in interest revenues from loans. this is perhaps the highest profit margin (1900%) of any industry on earth!) there also is outrage that the original income tax amendment provided for taxation of corporate profits but not personal incomes and that this too has been disregarded. your book fails to address any of these rising concerns. c. your failure to conside

explains services the gov can handle best

This book goes through the ins and outs of what the government can do and how it is best equipped to do it. This shows how the government can have a light at the end of the tunnel for everyone.