Joel B. writes:
Well, actually since a large chunk of it consists of taxing one part of
the working class to help another part of the working class, it is at
least in part a form of self-help. ....
Anwar Shaikh of the New School has written a paper along these
lines. ("Who pays for the 'Welfare' in the Welfare State?" Social Research
Summer '03; people can contact me OFF LIST for a copy.)
For the U.S. and 5 other OECD countries he examined, Shaikh argues that in
each case the evidence shows that the postwar increases in benefits to the
working class were financed by increased taxes on the working class; the
"welfare state" has been blamed for budget deficits but there is no
evidence for this.
Paul
