Who Really Benefits?
According to Desmond, who receives more government assistance in total: the rich or the poor?
Who are the rich?
What is the term Desmond uses to describe the kind of welfare that benefits the wealthy but goes unnoticed?
What kind of tax deduction can reduce taxes for homeowners?
What is the mortgage interest deduction?
Who is often blamed for “abusing the system”?
Who are poor people, especially people of color?
Where does much of the federal welfare spending actually go?
What is to middle- and upper-income households?
What does Desmond argue is a myth about welfare recipients?
What is the idea that only poor people receive welfare?
Give one example of a hidden welfare policy
What is the mortgage interest tax deduction?
How does the U.S. tax system reward wealthy Americans?
What is through deductions, credits, and lower rates on capital gains?
How does media portrayal influence our ideas of who’s on welfare?
What is by focusing on poor people and ignoring subsidies for the wealthy?
hich government program does Desmond argue is heavily used by low-wage workers?
What is Medicaid or SNAP (food stamps)?
What is through tax breaks, homeowner subsidies, and employer-sponsored health insurance?
What kind of tax-advantaged account helps wealthier people save for retirement?
What is a 401(k)?
What do these tax breaks cost the government?
What is hundreds of billions of dollars annually?
What term describes the way society makes poor people’s benefits seem visible and shameful?
What is welfare stigma?
What role does corporate lobbying play in welfare policy?
What is influencing tax policy to benefit businesses and the wealthy?
What role do employers play in the distribution of welfare?
What is relying on public programs to support underpaid workers?
What is through tax breaks for student loan interest or 529 college savings plans?
What’s one example of a tax loophole that benefits corporations or the rich?
What is the carried interest loophole?
Why are benefits to the rich not seen as “handouts”?
What is because they’re disguised as tax incentives or earned benefits?
What does Desmond say about how the U.S. could better allocate welfare spending?
What is by prioritizing programs that reduce poverty rather than reinforce inequality?
How does Desmond suggest our economy is structured around government aid to the well-off?
What is by embedding welfare into systems that benefit affluent Americans, like mortgage deductions and retirement plans?
Why is this form of welfare called “hidden”?
What is because it’s embedded in the tax code and not seen as welfare by most people?
Why do tax breaks often go unchallenged as welfare policies?
What is because they’re framed as “deserved” rewards or incentives, not handouts?
What does Desmond argue about how we view poverty in America?
What is we often individualize it rather than seeing it as systemic and policy-driven?
How do subsidies to the rich undermine efforts to reduce poverty?
What is they drain resources from programs that could directly help those in need?