Abstract
Governing is not an easy task. Every day, governments, along with their allies in the private sector, face challenges when attempting to make good policy and to put those good policies into effect within the society. Even when they are capable of making very good policy choices, governments need to marshal the resources to pay for them. And they must raise that money without overly antagonizing their citizens, or losing the confidence of the markets that provide at least part of the funding for the public sector.
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Notes
- 1.
‘Make America Great Again’ is the clearest example of this yearning for a lost past.
- 2.
Sometimes, although infrequently, that pledge is honored after the election. When it is, it can produce disastrous results (as in the United Kingdom with Truss).
- 3.
This connection is especially clear in the United States where Social Security pensions are financed almost entirely from an earmarked tax. Although the predictions are that the Social Security Trust Fund will be exhausted in the 2030s, Congress has not been willing or able to do anything to increase the viability of the program.
- 4.
The most obvious example is the budget proposed by Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng in the United Kingdom. Further, Donald Trump showed little concern with fiscal probity when advocating his tax cut legislation, and the Republicans in Congress were more than willing to support the cuts.
- 5.
Although the book is deeply flawed, J. D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy captures some of the sense of loss and abandonment in rural America, especially Appalachia.
- 6.
This evidence is admittedly limited, but it is suggestive of a desire for effective governance, even if that requires more limited political involvement. In addition to central banks, the agency model in New Public Management involves some depoliticization of important policy decisions.
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Peters, B.G. (2023). Governments and Citizens Under Stress. In: Keating, M., McAllister , I., Page, E.C., Peters, B.G. (eds) The Problem of Governing . Executive Politics and Governance. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-40817-5_11
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