Wealth Redistribution Is Well Underway in the US: Tyler Cowen

I have news for you: The United States is becoming more redistributionist. Whether you like it or not.

The broader historical trends show that the US tax-and-transfer system is getting more progressive, including in recent years. And the US government is increasingly redistributing wealth to the bottom half of the income distribution.

This portrait belies the common view that the US doesn’t have a “real” welfare state, at least as compared to, say, the Nordic countries. Writers from left-leaning perspectives frequently claim that the US has “gutted” its welfare programs — even former President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, ...