Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Explaining Income Inequality
- 2 The Distributional Force of Government
- 3 Political Conflict over “Who Gets What?”
- 4 Party Dynamics and Income Inequality
- 5 Macro Policy and Distributional Processes
- 6 Putting the Pieces Together: Who Gets What and How
- 7 Distribution, Redistribution, and the Future of American Politics
- Appendix A Congressional Questionnaire
- Appendix B Measuring Income Inequality over Time
- Bibliography
- Index
3 - Political Conflict over “Who Gets What?”
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 October 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Explaining Income Inequality
- 2 The Distributional Force of Government
- 3 Political Conflict over “Who Gets What?”
- 4 Party Dynamics and Income Inequality
- 5 Macro Policy and Distributional Processes
- 6 Putting the Pieces Together: Who Gets What and How
- 7 Distribution, Redistribution, and the Future of American Politics
- Appendix A Congressional Questionnaire
- Appendix B Measuring Income Inequality over Time
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
When we examine a cross-section of income data, as in the previous chapter, it is obvious that government programs have a tangible impact on who has how much money in America. Government action matters, but I am most interested in the political conflict that produces this government action. Government's impact on inequality, occurring through a variety of policy mechanisms, does not just happen, appearing out of nothing. It is likely a systematic product of politics. If we think of politics as the conflict over which values government will authoritatively enforce or the battle over who gets what, it is obvious that who wins and who loses in political conflict should alter the distributional outcomes that are in part determined by government policy. In this chapter, I examine the nature of political conflict over distributional outcomes in the United States. How might politics, as opposed to programs, influence income inequality?
Since at least the time of FDR and the Great Depression, modern American liberals have placed an intrinsic value on economic equality and have generally favored government action to balance the scales between the rich and the poor. Conservatives, on the other hand, do not find economic inequality to be an inherent societal problem and are less favorable toward government action that balances the scales of inequality.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Politics of Income Inequality in the United States , pp. 51 - 78Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009