the feminist librarian reads

The American welfare state is widely regarded as a poor cousin to those of its democratic peers. As the most unequal wealthy country, the United States also does the least to address that inequality through public policy—despite strong historical and international evidence that social spending programs can drastically reduce inequality. Our welfare state spends less, as a share of the national economy, on basic social programs. Its programs are both less universal in their coverage and more intrusive. And American social policies are remarkably deferential to the market—allowing employment status to largely determine the distribution of public and private benefits alike, and assuming that the purpose of public programs is to mop up those whom private coverage has left behind.