This is the introduction to Holes in the Safety Net: Federalism and Poverty (Ezra Rosser ed., Cambridge University Press, 2019). The introduction covers the major themes of federalism and anti-poverty work in the United States and includes links to the other chapters in the book

Machine generated contents note: Introduction Ezra Rosser; Part I. Welfare and Federalism: 1. The tools in the battle: federalism, entitlement, and punishment across the US social welfare state Wendy Bach; 2. Laboratories of suffering: toward democratic welfare governance Monica Bell, Andrea...

While the aggregate tax system is mildly progressive, state and local tax systems are notably regressive. The lowest 95 percent of all income earners pay on average a higher percent of their income in state and local taxes than their share of aggregate income. By comparison, the top 5 percent of...