Why liberals want to fix the welfare state — and conservatives don't

While liberals seek to reform a decrepit employer-based system, conservatives look to preserve it

New mom
(Image credit: (iStock))

The welfare state is a luxury item in the United States. Most developed countries treat social insurance programs as universal public goods, but the U.S. has largely followed a different tack: leaving it up to employers to provide these programs as fringe benefits.

We have long relied on employers to be health-insurance providers of first resort, but this is only the most visible example of what Matt Bruenig at Demos calls our "employer-provided welfare state."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Joel Dodge

Joel Dodge writes about politics, law, and domestic policy for The Week and at his blog. He is a member of the Boston University School of Law's class of 2014.