Racism Is the Biggest Reason the U.S. Safety Net Is
So Weak
Noah Smith notes:
“Economists are often criticized for ignoring the
political aspects of their theories. At least since the end of World War II,
economists have generally seen their role as offering expert advice to wise
technocratic leaders -- “whispering in the ears of princes.” But in the real
world, leaders with both the wisdom to listen to academic experts and the power
to implement any much less all of their recommendations are quite rare; more
often, the political world is a tangle of interest groups, culture wars,
partisan bickering and electoral expediency …
… the key isn't how similar the inhabitants of a
country might appear on paper, but how much they see themselves as one people;
fractionalization is in the mind, rather than in the genes. That implies that
the way forward for the U.S. and other diverse countries, to become more equal
and prosperous, is to de-emphasize racial and ethnic divisions and promote a
shared identity.”.
The legacy of Alberto Alesina