The Fiscalization of Social Policy
How Taxpayers Trumped Children in the Fight Against Child Poverty
Joshua T. McCabe
Reviews and Awards
"In sum, comparative welfare state scholars would be wise to pick up a copy of The Fiscalization of Social Policy. McCabe blends a rare mix of thorough historical analysis with sharp insights on how historical events constraint contemporary policymaking decisions. The book is thus not only relevant for researchers of the U.S., UK, or Canada, but for any policy or poverty scholar who wants to think more critically about how past actionâs shape todayâs political choices." -- Zachary Parolin, Columbia University, Social Forces
"In this insightful book, Joshua McCabe shows what conservatives have known for decades-that Republicans since Reagan have been advocating for tax relief in response to real pressures on American families. In mapping out the past, he offers a blueprint for pro-family conservatives to address the economic security of working families in the 21st century." - Senator Marco Rubio
"Joshua McCabe takes our understanding of poverty a big step forward by examining tax credits in comparative perspective. McCabe argues that liberal policymakers in the 1940s doomed the development of American poverty policy. Whether readers agree or disagree, they will benefit from McCabe's deep knowledge of the political history of three countries, and from his extensive immersion in the scholarship on taxation and the welfare state. This is an exemplary piece of comparative historical scholarship." - Monica Prasad, Northwestern University
"Tax expenditures have emerged as one of the most important and growing aspects of social policy across the rich democracies. Partly because tax expenditures are 'submerged' and 'hidden' in government budgets, both the politics underlying them and the consequences for poverty demand serious investigation. The Fiscalization of Social Policy provides a fresh, insightful, and desperately needed account of the politics of tax expenditures. This book is essential to understanding social policy in this era of austerity." - David Brady, Professor of Public Policy, University of California - Riverside
"In this book, McCabe presents a very fine defense of his theory explaining the increasing fiscalization of US sociall policy since the 1970s. By this he means primarily the use of tax credits as revenues not collected to support children and their families. Comparing Canada and the UK, McCabe traces this trend back to decisions rendered in the postwar era, largely as attempts to obfuscate their real cost in budgetary environments otherwise hostile to new spending... Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals." --CHOICE
"McCabe has provided an intriguing theory about why America's safety net looks the way it does - and why two closely related countries do things so differently. His book deserves a careful read by those concerned about family-oriented public policy." --National Review