An exploration of life in the military, particularly rank and file servicemembers, to better comprehend the relationship of the armed forces to American society. Moskos examines, among other things, the portrayals of soldiers in the media from World War II to the Vietnam War, the changing technological and bureaucratic characteristics of the social organization of the armed forces, and political attitudes, pay grades, and demographics of servicemembers, as well as race relations among enlisted men and behavior of combat soldiers in Vietnam.

Charles C. Moskos, Jr. was a professor at Northwestern University and a sociologist of the United States military.

“Tax breaks are the largest component of the U.S. welfare state, more costly than Social Security and Medicare combined. Christopher Ellis and Christopher Faricy’s pathbreaking analysis illuminates the broad political appeal of these programs in a country wary of ‘big government’ and obsessed with ‘deservingness.’ It also highlights the social cost—in economic inequality and unrelieved poverty—of America’s peculiar reliance on a submerged welfare state.”
—Larry M. Bartels, May Werthan Shayne Chair of Public Policy and Social Science, Vanderbilt University

“The Other Side of the Coin is far and away the most in-depth study of American attitudes toward tax expenditures. The authors and that standard models of public opinion provide an incomplete understanding of these attitudes, demonstrating along the way that tax expenditures could be a fruitful pathway to generating support for redistribution.”
—Nathan J. Kelly, professor, Department of Political Science, University of Tennessee

Despite high levels of inequality and wage stagnation over several decades, the U.S. has done relatively little to address these problems – at least in part due to public opinion, which remains highly influential in determining the size and scope of social welfare programs that provide direct benefits to retirees, unemployed workers or poor families. On the other hand, social tax expenditures – or tax subsidies that help citizens pay for expenses such as health insurance or costs of college, and invest in retirement plans – have been widely and successfully implemented, and they now comprise nearly 40 percent of the spending of the American social welfare state.  In The Other Side of the Coin, political scientists Christopher Ellis and Christopher Faricy examine public opinion towards social tax expenditures — the other side of the American social welfare state – and their potential to expand support for such social investment.

Tax expenditures seek to accomplish many of the goals of direct government expenditures, but they distribute money indirectly, through tax refunds or reductions in taxable income, rather than direct payments on goods and services or benefits. They tend to privilege market-based solutions to social problems such as employer-based tax subsidies for purchasing health insurance versus government-provided health insurance.

Drawing on nationally representative surveys and survey experiments, Ellis and Faricy show that social welfare policies designed as tax expenditures, as opposed to direct spending on social welfare programs, are widely popular with the general public. Contrary to previous research suggesting that recipients of these subsidies are often unaware of indirect government aid – sometimes called “the hidden welfare state” – Ellis and Faricy find that citizens are well aware of them and act in their economic self-interest in supporting tax breaks for social welfare purposes. The authors find that many people view the beneficiaries of social tax expenditures to be more deserving of government aid than recipients of direct public social programs, indicating that how government benefits are delivered affects people’s views of recipients’ worthiness. Importantly, tax expenditures are more likely to appeal to citizens with anti-government attitudes, low levels of trust in government, or racial prejudices. As a result, social spending conducted through the tax code is likely to be far more popular than direct government spending on public programs that have the same goals.

The first empirical examination of the broad popularity of tax expenditures, The Other Side of the Coin provides compelling insights into constructing a politically feasible—and potentially bipartisan—way to expand the scope of the American welfare state.

Winner of the 2020 Latino Politics Best Book Prize from the Latino Caucus of the American Political Science Association

Click here to view a webinar discussion of the authors discussing research findings from the book.

“We have long puzzled over the net effect of anti-immigrant hostility on the levels of civic and social engagement. Using this era of—by any measure—extreme anti-immigrant policy action by the Trump administration, James A. McCann and Michael Jones-Correa offer us a heartening answer and one consistent with the life narratives of the individuals involved. Challenged, excluded, and harassed, immigrants to the United States have opted for fuller engagement with our political system in an act of civic affirmation that is rooted in the finest traditions of American democracy, and consistent with the characters of individuals who chose to struggle past adversity to secure better futures for themselves and their progeny. These two nodal scholars have, once again, provided documentary evidence of the civic ideals of new Americans.”
—GARY M. SEGURA, professor and dean, Luskin School of Public Affairs, University of California, Los Angeles“

“Holding Fast is a critical read to understand how Latino immigrants have fared—and in fact remained resilient—under the Trump administration. Even in the face of a slew of anti-immigrant actions, James A. McCann and Michael Jones-Correa make it clear that Latino immigrants remain engaged and are using their voices to speak out and create change. As we head toward the presidential election, the book makes clear the promise and peril for both political parties of failing to truly engage the Latino community.”
—PHILIP E. WOLGIN, managing director, Immigration, Center for American Progress

“In recent years, immigrants from Latin America have been the target of vitriolic political discourse and federal policies restricting their participation in American life. But, as James A. McCann and Michael Jones-Correa show, these trends have not led to an exit from U.S. civic life nor a withdrawal from U.S. society. To the contrary, efforts to draw these immigrants outside the American circle have only strengthened their resolve. Based on an impressive study, Holding Fast powerfully underscores the growing importance of Latino immigrants in American politics and civic life. Engaging and persuasively argued, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in how Latino immigrants are actively forging their place in America’s future. If you pick up any book this year, read this one.”
—ROBERTO G. GONZALES, professor of education and director, Immigration Initiative at Harvard (IIH), Harvard University

The fight over immigration reform and immigrants’ rights in the U.S. has been marked by sharp swings in both public sentiment and official enforcement. In 2006, millions of Latino immigrants joined protests for immigration reform. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a policy granting work permits and protection from deportation to undocumented immigrants who entered the country before age 16, was enacted in 2012, despite a sharp increase in deportations during the Bush and Obama administrations. The 2016 election of Donald J. Trump prompted a surge in anti-immigrant sentiment which threatened DACA and other progressive immigration policies. In Holding Fast, political scientists James McCann and Michael Jones-Correa investigate whether and how these recent shifts have affected political attitudes and civic participation among Latino immigrants.

Holding Fast draws largely from a yearlong survey of Latino immigrants, including both citizens and noncitizens, conducted before and after the 2016 election. The survey gauges immigrants’ attitudes about the direction of the country and the emotional underpinnings of their political involvement. While survey respondents expressed pessimism about the direction of the United States following the 2016 election, there was no evidence of their withdrawal from civic life. Instead, immigrants demonstrated remarkable resilience in their political engagement, and their ties to America remained robust.

McCann and Jones-Correa examine Latino immigrants’ trust in government as well as their economic concerns and fears surrounding possible deportations of family members and friends. They find that Latino immigrants who were concerned about the likelihood of deportation were more likely to express a lack of trust in government. Concerns about personal finances were less salient. Disenchantment with the U.S. government did not differ based on citizenship status, length of stay in America, or residence in immigrant-friendly states. Foreign-born Latinos who are naturalized citizens shared similar sentiments to those with fewer political rights, and immigrants in California, for example, express views similar to those in Texas.

Addressing the potential influence immigrant voters may wield in in the coming election, the authors point to signs that the turnout rate for naturalized Latino immigrant may be higher than that for Latinos born in the United States. The authors further underscore the importance of the parties' platforms and policies, noting the still-tenuous nature of Latino immigrants’ affiliations with the Democratic Party.

Holding Fast outlines the complex political situation in which Latino immigrants find themselves today. Despite well-founded feelings of anger, fear, and skepticism, in general they maintain an abiding faith in the promise of American democracy. This book provides a comprehensive account of Latino immigrants’ political opinions and a nuanced, thoughtful outlook on the future of Latino civic participation. It will be an important contribution to scholarly work on civic engagement and immigrant integration.

JAMES A. MCCANN is professor of political science at Purdue University.

MICHAEL JONES-CORREA  is the President’s Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania.

“By bringing together two strands of social science research that are usually treated separately—those on youth transitions to adulthood and incarceration—and by providing careful new data analysis, David J. Harding and Heather M. Harris make an important contribution to our understanding of incarceration, race and poverty in America. Their nuanced portrait of the long-term outcomes observed among incarcerated youth is insightful, and generates major implicationsfor both research and policy.”
—HARRY J. HOLZER, John LaFarge Jr. SJ Professor of Public Policy, Georgetown University

The incarceration rate in the United States is the highest of any developed nation, with a prison population of approximately 2.3 million in 2016. Over 700,000 prisoners are released each year, and most face significant educational, economic, and social disadvantages. In After Prison, sociologist David Harding and criminologist Heather Harris provide a comprehensive account of young men’s experiences of reentry and reintegration in the era of mass incarceration. They focus on the unique challenges faced by 1,300 black and white youth aged 18 to 25 who were released from Michigan prisons in 2003, investigating the lives of those who achieved some measure of success after leaving prison as well as those who struggled with the challenges of creating new lives for themselves.

The transition to young adulthood typically includes school completion, full-time employment, leaving the childhood home, marriage, and childbearing, events that are disrupted by incarceration. While one quarter of the young men who participated in the study successfully transitioned into adulthood—achieving employment and residential independence and avoiding arrest and incarceration—the same number of young men remained deeply involved with the criminal justice system, spending on average four out of the seven years after their initial release re-incarcerated. Not surprisingly, whites are more likely to experience success after prison. The authors attribute this racial disparity to the increased stigma of criminal records for blacks, racial discrimination, and differing levels of social network support that connect whites to higher quality jobs. Black men earn less than white men, are more concentrated in industries characterized by low wages and job insecurity, and are less likely to remain employed once they have a job.

The authors demonstrate that families, social networks, neighborhoods, and labor market, educational, and criminal justice institutions can have a profound impact on young people’s lives. Their research indicates that residential stability is key to the transition to adulthood. Harding and Harris make the case for helping families, municipalities, and non-profit organizations provide formerly incarcerated young people access to long-term supportive housing and public housing. A remarkably large number of men in this study eventually enrolled in college, reflecting the growing recognition of college as a gateway to living wage work. But the young men in the study spent only brief spells in college, and the majority failed to earn degrees. They were most likely to enroll in community colleges, trade schools, and for-profit institutions, suggesting that interventions focused on these kinds of schools are more likely to be effective. The authors suggest that, in addition to helping students find employment, educational institutions can aid reentry efforts for the formerly incarcerated by providing supports like childcare and paid apprenticeships.

After Prison offers a set of targeted policy interventions to improve these young people’s chances: lifting restrictions on federal financial aid for education, encouraging criminal record sealing and expungement, and reducing the use of incarceration in response to technical parole violations. This book will be an important contribution to the fields of scholarly work on the criminal justice system and disconnected youth.

DAVID J. HARDING  is professor of sociology at the University of California, Berkeley.

HEATHER M. HARRIS is a research fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California.

The sixth biennial issue of reports on the status of organized activities in social work and in related fields, including 83 signed articles prepared by authorities on the topics discussed as well as a directory of national and state agencies, both governmental and voluntary, related to social work.

A pamphlet on the physical standards adopted and promoted by the Playground and Recreation Association of America for adolescent boys through a badge test.

A Brief Description of the Springfield Survey Exhibition, reprinted from The American City, vol. XII, No. 2, February 1915.

This pamphlet reviews the work of the National Conference of Charities and Correction, as well as the National Conference of Jewish Charities, in regard to relief and care for the homeless. It was written while the Transient Division of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, the first nationwide program for the care of the homeless, was in operation.

Jeffrey R. Brackett was chairman of advisory board, Massachusetts Department of Public Welfare.

From Charities and the Commons, promoting the benefits of outdoor play and public playgrounds.

Elmer Elsworth Brown, United States Commissioner of Education

This pamphlet provides recommendations for safer celebratory traditions for the Fourth of July.

August H. Brunner, Department of Child Hygiene, Russell Sage Foundation