The High Cost of Good Intentions

A History of U.S. Federal Entitlement Programs

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, Government, Social Policy
Cover of the book The High Cost of Good Intentions by John F. Cogan, Stanford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: John F. Cogan ISBN: 9781503604254
Publisher: Stanford University Press Publication: September 26, 2017
Imprint: Stanford University Press Language: English
Author: John F. Cogan
ISBN: 9781503604254
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Publication: September 26, 2017
Imprint: Stanford University Press
Language: English

Federal entitlement programs are strewn throughout the pages of U.S. history, springing from the noble purpose of assisting people who are destitute through no fault of their own. Yet as federal entitlement programs have grown, so too have their inefficiency and their cost. Neither tax revenues nor revenues generated by the national economy have been able to keep pace with their rising growth, bringing the national debt to a record peacetime level.

The High Cost of Good Intentions is the first comprehensive history of these federal entitlement programs. Combining economics, history, political science, and law, John F. Cogan reveals how the creation of entitlements brings forth a steady march of liberalizing forces that cause entitlement programs to expand. This process—as visible in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as in the present day—is repeated until benefits are extended to nearly all who could be considered eligible, and in turn establishes a new base for future expansions. His work provides a unifying explanation for the evolutionary path that nearly all federal entitlement programs have followed over the past two hundred years, tracing both their shared past and the financial risks they pose for future generations.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Federal entitlement programs are strewn throughout the pages of U.S. history, springing from the noble purpose of assisting people who are destitute through no fault of their own. Yet as federal entitlement programs have grown, so too have their inefficiency and their cost. Neither tax revenues nor revenues generated by the national economy have been able to keep pace with their rising growth, bringing the national debt to a record peacetime level.

The High Cost of Good Intentions is the first comprehensive history of these federal entitlement programs. Combining economics, history, political science, and law, John F. Cogan reveals how the creation of entitlements brings forth a steady march of liberalizing forces that cause entitlement programs to expand. This process—as visible in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as in the present day—is repeated until benefits are extended to nearly all who could be considered eligible, and in turn establishes a new base for future expansions. His work provides a unifying explanation for the evolutionary path that nearly all federal entitlement programs have followed over the past two hundred years, tracing both their shared past and the financial risks they pose for future generations.

More books from Stanford University Press

Cover of the book Remainders by John F. Cogan
Cover of the book The Other Adam Smith by John F. Cogan
Cover of the book Compelling Interest by John F. Cogan
Cover of the book Staying Afloat by John F. Cogan
Cover of the book The Limits of Whiteness by John F. Cogan
Cover of the book Architects of Austerity by John F. Cogan
Cover of the book Democracy and War by John F. Cogan
Cover of the book Native Capital by John F. Cogan
Cover of the book Image and Presence by John F. Cogan
Cover of the book Uncle Tom by John F. Cogan
Cover of the book Race Decoded by John F. Cogan
Cover of the book Imaginative Geographies of Algerian Violence by John F. Cogan
Cover of the book East West Mimesis by John F. Cogan
Cover of the book The Truth of the Technological World by John F. Cogan
Cover of the book Anchor Babies and the Challenge of Birthright Citizenship by John F. Cogan
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy