Rediscovering Government Roadshow Packet

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! !Let us never forget that government is ourselves

and not an alien power over us. FDR

www.RediscoveringGovernment.org! !


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Reagan said, Government is the problem. Differing

perspectives on government have defined the public narrative and political actions throughout American

history. Now its our turn to script the future.

In March 2012, the Roosevelt Institute launched its flagship initiative, Rediscovering Government, to develop a

new narrative to counter the anti-government language, attitudes, and policies that have dominated American

politics for a generation. Led by Senior Fellow Jeff Madrick, Rediscovering Government will create a national

conversation about the role of government, and promote active government in the public discourse. As a

result, the program will provide access to innovative scholars conducting incisive research on the purpose of

government and will equip progressive advocates, grassroots organizations, and the media with language

necessary for a strong and well-informed defense of active government.

Through its roadshow, website, and a series of publications by innovative thinkers, the initiative provides a

detailed snapshot of the evolving role of government overtime, depicting the ways in which government has

fueled innovation, supported social justice, and improved quality of life in America. Using this historical

framework, the initiative debunks myths like big government impedes growth and Social Security is going

bankrupt and engages stakeholders in participatory sessions that ask what role do you think government

should play? and what issues should government be responsible for addressing?, and asks participants to

define the kind of government they want to create together.

is a Senior Fellow at the Roosevelt Institute, economics columnist at Harpers Magazineand editor of Challenge Magazine. He is a regular contributor to The New York Review of Books, former

economics columnist for The New York Times, and author of several books, including The Case For Big

Government and Age of Greed.


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Define the kind of government we want to create together.|Join Us| www.RooseveltInstitute.org/JoinUs

How does the government effect your daily life?

|Tumblr |http://rediscovergov.tumblr.com/

What role do you think government should play?

|Facebook | http://www.facebook.com/RediscoveringGovernment

What issues do you think the government should be responsible for addressing?

|Twitter |http://twitter.com/RediscoverGov


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Help spread the word about all the ways in which governmentsupports us join our Brought to You by the Government sticker campaign!

STICKERSEmail Name, Address, Affiliation and # of Stickers to [email protected]

IN THE FUN

Grab your friends, family, coworkers, and pets and put stickers on everything your local, state or federal governmentsupports, like transportation, education, infrastructure and public services!

YOUR PHOTOSSubmit your photos via email or Twitter. Tweet your photo and caption with the hash tag #RediscoverGov and checkback on Tumblr to find your photo! Or email your photos and captions to [email protected]


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THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN THE ECONOMY

MYTH: BIG GOVERNMENT IMPEDES GROWTH.

TRUTH: Economic history does not find any net cost in GDP from democratic large-budget welfare states. They avoidedany net GDP cost while achieving many social goals: reducing poverty and inequality, extending life spans, and havingcleaner government. In addition, their government budget deficits are no greater, and people are no less happy in theselarge-budget welfare states.

LEARN MORE HERE: Peter Lindert, Distinguished Research Professor of Economics, University of California Davis

http://www.rooseveltinstitute.org/government-social-programs-and-economic-growth-verdicts-history

MYTH: HIGH TAXES CREATE DISINCENTIVES.

TRUTH: There have been many econometric studies of cross-country data that have attempted to estimate the effectsof the overall level of taxes on economic growth, and many other econometric studies (using a variety of types of data)that have attempted to estimate the causal effect of changes in marginal income tax rates on peoples' efforts to earnincome. Neither approach has provided convincing evidence of a strong negative effect of taxes on long-run real

economic activity.LEARN MORE HERE: Jon Bakija, Professor of Economics, Williams College http://www.rooseveltinstitute.org/jon-bakija-handout-

myths-about-government-roundtable


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!THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN THE ECONOMY

MYTH: FREE MARKETS DISTRIBUTE INCOME FAIRLY AND EQUITABLY.

TRUTH: When the country prospers, everyone should prosper. In the period between World War II and the mid-to-late1970s, economic growth was good for Americans in the middle and below. Since then, however, relatively little of oureconomy's growth has reached households in the lower half. Wages for this group have barely budged. Risingemployment helped in the 1980s and 1990s, but that wasn't enough to ensure that incomes kept pace with economicgrowth, and employment stopped increasing after 2000. Government transfers are another key source of income formany households in the lower half, but they too have lagged behind growth of the economy.

LEARN MORE HERE: Lane Kenworthy, Professor of Sociology and Political Science, University of Arizonahttp://www.rooseveltinstitute.org/americas-struggling-lower-half-lane-kenworthy-paper-myths-about-government-roundtable

MYTH: SOCIAL SECURITY IS GOING BANKRUPT.

TRUTH: Social Security, which provides more universal, more fair, more efficient, and more adequate retirement income,life insurance, and disability insurance than its private sector counterparts, is an important stabilizing mechanism for theentire economy. Once trust funds are exhausted, and even with no change to policy before 2033, Social Security will still

be able to support 75% of costs through payroll tax assets. Moreover, the solvency gap could be easily closed through acombination of removing the taxable income cap (currently at $110,000 / year) and increasing payroll taxes.

LEARN MORE HERE: Monique Morrissey, Economic Policy Institute - http://www.epi.org/blog/social-security-debate-talking-points/

Paul Van de Water, Off the Charts http://www.offthechartsblog.org/no-social-security-and-medicare-arent-going-bankrupt/

Jeff Madrick, Roosevelt Institute - http://www.nextnewdeal.net/rediscovering-government/ignore-deficit-hawks-social-security-easy-

fix?utm_source=Next+New+Deal+Newsletter&utm_campaign=c0e70d085c-NND_Weekly_8_16_128_16_2012&utm_medium=email


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MYTH: AMERICANS PAY INCREASINGLY HIGH TAXES.

TRUTH: On July 10th, the Congressional Budget Office, a non-partisan organization, reported that Americans paid thelowest Federal taxes in 30 years under Obama in 2009. When taxes were lowered, they took the form of cuts in payrolltaxes. A New York Times/CBS News poll in Fall 2010 said that fewer than 10% of Americans knew their taxes had beencut.

LEARN MORE HERE: The Distribution of Household Income and Federal Taxes, 2008 and 2009 Congressional Budget Office

http://www.cbo.gov/publication/43373

MYTH: GOVERNMENT BUDGETS SHOULD BE BALANCED. OUR CURRENT DEBT IS UNPRECEDENTED AND WILLCREATE AN ECONOMIC DISASTER.

TRUTH: There is no obvious maximum level of debt at which the economy starts to slow. Our current debt is not thelargest in history; in 1946, when the country was experiencing a war boom, public debt was 108.7% of GDP compared to67.7% of GDP in 2011. Nor is our federal deficit unprecedented. The deficit in 1943 was the inflation-adjusted equivalent

of $4.3 trillion today compared to 2012s projected deficit of $1.33 trillion.

LEARN MORE HERE: Josh Bivens & John Irons http://www.epi.org/publication/bp271/

The White House, Office of Management and Budget - http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/overview,

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Historicals

NPR - http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112339032


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MYTH: A LARGE FINANCIAL SECTOR IS NECESSARY FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH.

TRUTH: Recent studies using econometrics techniques found that a too-large financial sector impedes economic growth.In fact, countries with big financial sectors could benefit from regulatory policies and enforcement.

LEARN MORE HERE: Ugo Panizza, Chief Economist with United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

http://www.rooseveltinstitute.org/can-tighter-financial-regulation-and-small-financial-sector-increase-economic-growth

MYTH: SMALL GOVERNMENT IS KEY TO ECONOMIC VITALITY.

TRUTH: The government has played a large role in the economy for over a century. The establishment of free publicschools in the second half of the 19th century evened the playing field for poor children. Large-scale national publictransportation, the creation of the public school system, and the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 are examples of positive

government contributions to the economy.

LEARN MORE HERE: Jeff Madrick, Roosevelt Institute - http://www.rooseveltinstitute.org/brief-history-us-government-and-economy


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