AMERICANS are not known for their love of income redistribution. Asked to rank, on a scale of one to ten, how important it is for democracies to reduce inequality, they say only six; Europeans say eight. Yet the country is hardly indifferent to who gets which slice of the economic pie. Three in five Americans say that income and wealth should be spread around more. The most potent charge laid against the unpopular Republican tax plan making its way through Congress is that it is a giveaway to the rich and to corporations—groups that voters, by large margins, think should pay more tax, not less.
This strange amalgam of views manifests itself in fiscal policy. The federal government has no qualms about making the rich pay the country’s bills; it has perhaps the most progressive tax system in the rich world, according to one study from 2009. But it pulls off only half of Robin Hood’s trick, because it funnels very little of the money it raises towards the poor. In combination, its...Continue reading
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