The Case for Big Government

That’s the title of the forthcoming Jeff Madrick book.  "Don’t we already have big government?" was my first reaction.  This book is a good summary of one point of view, but if you’re already familiar with the basic arguments it won’t extend your understanding of the debates.  There’s not much on the public choice arguments (e.g., self-serving special interests and irrational and underinformed voters) against growing state power, only a general sense that we "should" do good things with government.  Nor is there much realization that Americans are skeptical about government, in large part, because of their daily experiences with it.  We’re also told that many of the proposed progressive measures will nearly pay for themselves.

Yana’s reaction was: "Why didn’t he publish it with a government press?"