ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book analyzes public attitudes toward redistributive programs during the New Deal area. It argues that voters support policies that guarantee security; with respect to income, security means a floor to a standard of living. The book focuses on the failure of most of these intermediaries to play an activist role in representing small investors. Many managers of public corporations and of institutional investors act as if they don’t owe much to the retirement savings of the public. The book discusses what we owe each other in terms of education and training, specifically, the expenditures for public primary and secondary education. It demonstrates how policy change in these areas has led to problems of moral hazard and adverse selection.
