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Chicago Studies in American Politics
The Submerged State: How Invisible Government Policies Undermine American Democracy
“Keep your government hands off my Medicare!” Such comments spotlight a central question animating Suzanne Mettler’s provocative and timely why are many Americans unaware of government social benefits and so hostile to them in principle, even though they receive them? The Obama administration has been roundly criticized for its inability to convey how much it has accomplished for ordinary citizens. Mettler argues that this difficulty is not merely a failure of communication; rather it is endemic to the formidable presence of the “submerged state.”
In recent decades, federal policymakers have increasingly shunned the outright disbursing of benefits to individuals and families and favored instead less visible and more indirect incentives and subsidies, from tax breaks to payments for services to private companies. These submerged policies, Mettler shows, obscure the role of government and exaggerate that of the market. As a result, citizens are unaware not only of the benefits they receive, but of the massive advantages given to powerful interests, such as insurance companies and the financial industry. Neither do they realize that the policies of the submerged state shower their largest benefits on the most affluent Americans, exacerbating inequality. Mettler analyzes three Obama reforms—student aid, tax relief, and health care—to reveal the submerged state and its consequences, demonstrating how structurally difficult it is to enact policy reforms and even to obtain public recognition for achieving them. She concludes with recommendations for reform to help make hidden policies more visible and governance more comprehensible to all Americans.
The sad truth is that many American citizens do not know how major social programs work—or even whether they benefit from them. Suzanne Mettler’s important new book will bring government policies back to the surface and encourage citizens to reclaim their voice in the political process.
In recent decades, federal policymakers have increasingly shunned the outright disbursing of benefits to individuals and families and favored instead less visible and more indirect incentives and subsidies, from tax breaks to payments for services to private companies. These submerged policies, Mettler shows, obscure the role of government and exaggerate that of the market. As a result, citizens are unaware not only of the benefits they receive, but of the massive advantages given to powerful interests, such as insurance companies and the financial industry. Neither do they realize that the policies of the submerged state shower their largest benefits on the most affluent Americans, exacerbating inequality. Mettler analyzes three Obama reforms—student aid, tax relief, and health care—to reveal the submerged state and its consequences, demonstrating how structurally difficult it is to enact policy reforms and even to obtain public recognition for achieving them. She concludes with recommendations for reform to help make hidden policies more visible and governance more comprehensible to all Americans.
The sad truth is that many American citizens do not know how major social programs work—or even whether they benefit from them. Suzanne Mettler’s important new book will bring government policies back to the surface and encourage citizens to reclaim their voice in the political process.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
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1018 people want to read
About the author
Suzanne Mettler
14 books32 followersSuzanne Mettler is the John L. Senior Professor of American Institutions in the Government Department at Cornell University. She is the author of several books, including The Government-Citizen Disconnect; Degrees of Inequality: How The Politics of Higher Education Sabotaged the American Dream; and The Submerged State: How Invisible Government Programs Undermine American Democracy. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Radcliffe Institute Fellowship, and several book awards. In 2017, she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
September 14, 2021
A solid book on an aspect of government little discussed. The prose could have had more bite though. Also, she takes her argument a little too far.
May 8, 2015
Although I am familiar with author Suzanne Mettler's other works and the general arguments made in this particular book, I inexplicably had put off reading "The Submerged State" until recently. That was my loss.
Mettler's book sets out to explain why citizens of the US tend to be very hostile to the idea of public social benefits despite using them extensively. Her answer is that most Americans, including those who are taking advantage of social benefits, actually have no idea that they are using benefits at all. That is because political leaders from both parties have moved in recent decades to deliver social benefits through the tax code and indirect channels rather than through direct spending and discrete programs. The "submerged" nature of these benefits renders them invisible. For instance, many people are hostile to direct government spending on housing vouchers for low-income households, yet the home mortgage interest deduction, which is the second largest social expenditures in the federal budget, is popular despite costing four times as much. The difference is that the subsidy is effectively invisible, which is why a majority of the people who use the deduction claim never to have used a social benefit.
The bulk of Mettler's slender book revolves around three case studies of different parts of the submerged state: the federal loan programs for college students, the "Obamacare" health insurance legislation, and a recent attempt to reform the tax code. Each case demonstrates how difficult it can be to change policies that are opaque to the public. And even when a beneficial reform is achieved, such as with recent changes to the federal loan program and Obamacare, the public rarely perceives either the changes or the role the government played in them since the delivery mechanisms tend to remain the same (e.g., health insurers and banks).
Typically, discussions of tax expenditures focus on their inherent costs, inefficiencies, and inequities. The home mortgage interest deduction, for instance, is costly and delivers most of its benefits to households with high incomes--the very households most apt to buy homes in the first place--while doing little to help households with greater needs. Mettler talks about these problems but extends the discussion to consider the corrosive effects of the submerged state on democratic life. Because the submerged state is invisible, ordinary households often are unable to form any kind of informed opinion on the policies, while vested interests have clear opinions and the resources to advance their desires through the political process. Policy debates like those over Obamacare therefore become fights among privileged actors seeking to benefit from public spending, with ordinary citizens relegated to the sidelines.
In her concluding chapter, Mettler discusses the need to make social expenditures more transparent and sketches a rubric that could be used to advance transparency before, during, and after the enactment of social policies. A key element running through all three stages is the need for prominent public leaders to make efforts to explain what is going on and to reveal the functioning of the submerged state. That is because Mettler's research shows that the revelation of such information, especially the distributional effects associated with given policies, exerts a powerful influence on public opinion.
Overall, this is an excellent book. Mettler's case is straightforward and her clear writing helps to surface the submerged state. Additionally, Mettler supports her case with extensive quantitative research. Anyone who cares about social policy in the United States and who is interested in understanding how and on whose behalf government works should read this book.
Mettler's book sets out to explain why citizens of the US tend to be very hostile to the idea of public social benefits despite using them extensively. Her answer is that most Americans, including those who are taking advantage of social benefits, actually have no idea that they are using benefits at all. That is because political leaders from both parties have moved in recent decades to deliver social benefits through the tax code and indirect channels rather than through direct spending and discrete programs. The "submerged" nature of these benefits renders them invisible. For instance, many people are hostile to direct government spending on housing vouchers for low-income households, yet the home mortgage interest deduction, which is the second largest social expenditures in the federal budget, is popular despite costing four times as much. The difference is that the subsidy is effectively invisible, which is why a majority of the people who use the deduction claim never to have used a social benefit.
The bulk of Mettler's slender book revolves around three case studies of different parts of the submerged state: the federal loan programs for college students, the "Obamacare" health insurance legislation, and a recent attempt to reform the tax code. Each case demonstrates how difficult it can be to change policies that are opaque to the public. And even when a beneficial reform is achieved, such as with recent changes to the federal loan program and Obamacare, the public rarely perceives either the changes or the role the government played in them since the delivery mechanisms tend to remain the same (e.g., health insurers and banks).
Typically, discussions of tax expenditures focus on their inherent costs, inefficiencies, and inequities. The home mortgage interest deduction, for instance, is costly and delivers most of its benefits to households with high incomes--the very households most apt to buy homes in the first place--while doing little to help households with greater needs. Mettler talks about these problems but extends the discussion to consider the corrosive effects of the submerged state on democratic life. Because the submerged state is invisible, ordinary households often are unable to form any kind of informed opinion on the policies, while vested interests have clear opinions and the resources to advance their desires through the political process. Policy debates like those over Obamacare therefore become fights among privileged actors seeking to benefit from public spending, with ordinary citizens relegated to the sidelines.
In her concluding chapter, Mettler discusses the need to make social expenditures more transparent and sketches a rubric that could be used to advance transparency before, during, and after the enactment of social policies. A key element running through all three stages is the need for prominent public leaders to make efforts to explain what is going on and to reveal the functioning of the submerged state. That is because Mettler's research shows that the revelation of such information, especially the distributional effects associated with given policies, exerts a powerful influence on public opinion.
Overall, this is an excellent book. Mettler's case is straightforward and her clear writing helps to surface the submerged state. Additionally, Mettler supports her case with extensive quantitative research. Anyone who cares about social policy in the United States and who is interested in understanding how and on whose behalf government works should read this book.
August 18, 2012
It doesn't take a pundit to know that American politics are screwed up beyond measure. Congress is stuck in gridlock, the economy is stalled, elections are decided by culture war attack ads, and politics itself is derided as a pursuit for lying hustlers. Everybody has a a scapegoat, but Mettler actually has some evidence backing her theory.
The key issue is not the government we see, but the government we don't, the vast tangle of tax breaks, public-private partnerships, and incentives that Mettler deems 'the submerged state'. The size of the submerged state is astounding, 8% of the GDP, or half the the size of the visible state (Medicare, social security, Medicaid, the military, servicing the debt, and the relatively minuscule discretionary funding that covers everything else the government does, from transportation to education to NASA and foreign aid).
Mettler deploys economic and social statistics to show that for all it's expense, the submerged state is a failure on nearly every level. Whatever your politics, there is something to dislike about the submerged state. It represents a transfer of wealth from the poor to the wealthy, when most Americans abstractly support reducing inequality. It is a distortionary government influence on the workings of the free market, without even the relativity clarity of direct purchases or regulations. It often fails to accomplished stated policy goals of improving access to education, healthcare, or housing. It leads to civic disengagement, as those who benefit fail to see how the government has helped them, or how they can meaningfully impact politics through voting. And above all, it is corrupt, as it replaces broad public participation with the lobbying of narrowly constituted wealthy interests groups.
This book is not perfect. Mettler is a liberal political scientist, and she has the biases of her profession: that conservatives are responsible for much of what's gone wrong with America over the past 30 years (disclosure: I agree), and that citizens would vote 'better' (I.e. for liberals) is they were just better informed. She is also not quite up to the task of sinking the submerged state. But these are minor quibbles. In the social sciences, I evaluate theories on their explanatory power, and Mettler has provided a powerful lens for seeing many divergent policies as part of a unitary whole.
In a just and reasonable world, the 2012 Presidential campaign would about Mettler's book. Unfortunately, we're still living on Earth, and so it's going to be about Obama's socialism and Romney's tax returns.
The key issue is not the government we see, but the government we don't, the vast tangle of tax breaks, public-private partnerships, and incentives that Mettler deems 'the submerged state'. The size of the submerged state is astounding, 8% of the GDP, or half the the size of the visible state (Medicare, social security, Medicaid, the military, servicing the debt, and the relatively minuscule discretionary funding that covers everything else the government does, from transportation to education to NASA and foreign aid).
Mettler deploys economic and social statistics to show that for all it's expense, the submerged state is a failure on nearly every level. Whatever your politics, there is something to dislike about the submerged state. It represents a transfer of wealth from the poor to the wealthy, when most Americans abstractly support reducing inequality. It is a distortionary government influence on the workings of the free market, without even the relativity clarity of direct purchases or regulations. It often fails to accomplished stated policy goals of improving access to education, healthcare, or housing. It leads to civic disengagement, as those who benefit fail to see how the government has helped them, or how they can meaningfully impact politics through voting. And above all, it is corrupt, as it replaces broad public participation with the lobbying of narrowly constituted wealthy interests groups.
This book is not perfect. Mettler is a liberal political scientist, and she has the biases of her profession: that conservatives are responsible for much of what's gone wrong with America over the past 30 years (disclosure: I agree), and that citizens would vote 'better' (I.e. for liberals) is they were just better informed. She is also not quite up to the task of sinking the submerged state. But these are minor quibbles. In the social sciences, I evaluate theories on their explanatory power, and Mettler has provided a powerful lens for seeing many divergent policies as part of a unitary whole.
In a just and reasonable world, the 2012 Presidential campaign would about Mettler's book. Unfortunately, we're still living on Earth, and so it's going to be about Obama's socialism and Romney's tax returns.
February 5, 2012
A short, but interesting read. Basically, Prof. Mettler argues that citizens, and the country, would be better off if government welfare policies were explicit and visible rather than hidden in the "submerged state". The author is under no illusions and readily acknowledges the difficultly in achieving this goal. The 3 case studies (Student loans, Health care and tax expenditures) do a nice job of illuminating the possible outcomes.
My one major compliant about the book is the relative dearth of discussion about the influence of partisanship. This thesis is very much geared toward the Democratic Party. It is difficult to imagine the current GOP supporting proposals to shed light on government welfare tilled toward the affluent. Therefore, groups often painted as liberal by conservatives will be delivering the message about revealing the "submerged state". Will the source of the message blunt the content? Current research would seem to suggest that conservatives will dismiss or counter argue this message. Is support from liberals alone enough to reveal the hidden hand of government? I would of liked to see a bit more done with the experiment.
Overall, a good read. Recommended.
My one major compliant about the book is the relative dearth of discussion about the influence of partisanship. This thesis is very much geared toward the Democratic Party. It is difficult to imagine the current GOP supporting proposals to shed light on government welfare tilled toward the affluent. Therefore, groups often painted as liberal by conservatives will be delivering the message about revealing the "submerged state". Will the source of the message blunt the content? Current research would seem to suggest that conservatives will dismiss or counter argue this message. Is support from liberals alone enough to reveal the hidden hand of government? I would of liked to see a bit more done with the experiment.
Overall, a good read. Recommended.
June 11, 2019
Interesting take, though could be shorter. Basically, several articles as chapters. The first couple lay out the theoretical concept with a useful literature review. The original research is mostly surveys comparing what/how much people "know" about government policies, to what extent they actually partake of them (e.g. student loans, mortgage interest deductions on taxes, government provided/supported health care), and whether they "support" the policy. The conclusion, that policy compromises could be limited if beneficiaries were made more aware of them, is interesting (and laudable in terms of promoting democracy), if not entirely convincing. The "content analysis" of speeches is a fairly rough quantitative measure of public engagement, but then again there might not be any much better alternative
March 31, 2013
Americanists often argue over whether US democracy is direct, pluralist, or elite. Mettler argues that the form is the result of policies. When benefits are hidden in tax expenditures, as they currently are, citizens do not see the benefits of government action and become increasingly apathetic and distanced while those who benefit most, the elites, become increasingly involved pushing for still increasingly hidden benefits.
October 14, 2016
This book is interesting and explained something really important about how our government and politics work, but it sort of makes its point in the first 20 pages. Should have been an essay.
Also, I'm a huge Obama fan, but this book occasionally reads like a love letter to his administration. It made me doubt his level of bias at times.
Also, I'm a huge Obama fan, but this book occasionally reads like a love letter to his administration. It made me doubt his level of bias at times.
December 19, 2018
An interesting discussion of the power of the entrenched interests in Government programs that are administered outside of the realm of legislation - and our lack of ability to change them or appreciate the benefits we receive through them. I am not sure of the validity of the research parts of the book but the written analysis is food for thought.
May 12, 2013
Excellent analysis of the hidden aspects of American social policy, and the ways in which they distort democratic accountability.
October 7, 2014
Short and illuminating look at U.S. governance and why our citizens are so disengaged from and cynical about politics. Worth your time.
Read
December 31, 2016Interesting perspective on why Americans don't support government programs they actively use and benefit from.
April 18, 2020
Highly recommend
Fantastic and very easy for a normal person, such as me, to read! This author loves her subject. I respect the work put into this.
Fantastic and very easy for a normal person, such as me, to read! This author loves her subject. I respect the work put into this.
September 30, 2020
Setting aside the fact that the information in this book is largely dated, I felt Mettler could've summarized many of the points she takes chapters to elaborate on and built on her core argument.
June 29, 2023
It’s easy to stigmatize people who receive overt government assistance and even easier to forget about (or not even realize in the first place) the government money that more surreptitiously makes its way into people’s pockets. And this is the exact dynamic Suzanne Mettler identifies when she refers to the submerged state–“existing policies that lay beneath the surface of the U.S. market institutions and within the federal tax system”–which includes federal subsidies, incentives, and tax expenditures.
While these submerged state policies do help a variety of people, they are favored by the finance, insurance, and real estate industries who get free money from them and by conservative politicians because they maintain the illusion of small government. They help give the impression that the “free market” is operating smoothly on its own when, in reality, it is being bolstered by federal dollars.
These policies, such as the home mortgage interest deduction and the tax-free status of employer sponsored health insurance, also tend to benefit more affluent families who have more knowledge and accessibility to them. In this way, they add fuel to an already burning fire of economic inequality and allow for further aggrievement toward the “moochers” who get more direct assistance.
Mettler’s solutions are fine. Reduce the power of vested interests in the submerged state (good luck!). Explain potential benefits to citizens rather than relying on behavioral theories. Use better policy delivery mechanisms so that people see the government assistance so many are getting (via payroll taxes and checks in the mail). Even if none of these suggestions are earth shattering, she at least makes clear what works and what doesn’t.
Perhaps the most important takeaway, though, is merely understanding the submerged state exists and that, therefore, the question is not one of big government versus small government but of what shape that government should take to aid as many people as it can.
While these submerged state policies do help a variety of people, they are favored by the finance, insurance, and real estate industries who get free money from them and by conservative politicians because they maintain the illusion of small government. They help give the impression that the “free market” is operating smoothly on its own when, in reality, it is being bolstered by federal dollars.
These policies, such as the home mortgage interest deduction and the tax-free status of employer sponsored health insurance, also tend to benefit more affluent families who have more knowledge and accessibility to them. In this way, they add fuel to an already burning fire of economic inequality and allow for further aggrievement toward the “moochers” who get more direct assistance.
Mettler’s solutions are fine. Reduce the power of vested interests in the submerged state (good luck!). Explain potential benefits to citizens rather than relying on behavioral theories. Use better policy delivery mechanisms so that people see the government assistance so many are getting (via payroll taxes and checks in the mail). Even if none of these suggestions are earth shattering, she at least makes clear what works and what doesn’t.
Perhaps the most important takeaway, though, is merely understanding the submerged state exists and that, therefore, the question is not one of big government versus small government but of what shape that government should take to aid as many people as it can.
April 13, 2020
A solid book about the "submerged state," government policies that shape social policy but aren't understood or recognized by the public. Mettler utilizes two examples of the early Obama year -- health care reform and student loan reform -- to point out how an administration can shape tax expenditure policy, how it tackles vested interests, and how it can communicate (or struggle to communicate) those results to the public.
Tax expenditures are in the weeds but necessary to understand how government functions, the size of government, and who government policies benefit.
A key challenge that emerges from this book is political communication. How in today's media and political world can you make people understand the role of government in mortgages, loans, tax programs, etc etc especially in the headwinds of interest groups. It's a challenge future administrations should spend as much time thinking about as they do in actually changing the policies.
All in all, though, I think it'd suffice to read her academic article on this book rather than the whole book unless you are keen to read the case studies or read about other academic studies cited.
Tax expenditures are in the weeds but necessary to understand how government functions, the size of government, and who government policies benefit.
A key challenge that emerges from this book is political communication. How in today's media and political world can you make people understand the role of government in mortgages, loans, tax programs, etc etc especially in the headwinds of interest groups. It's a challenge future administrations should spend as much time thinking about as they do in actually changing the policies.
All in all, though, I think it'd suffice to read her academic article on this book rather than the whole book unless you are keen to read the case studies or read about other academic studies cited.
May 13, 2024
4 stars because the concepts are important. But there were 2 paragraphs in the book (one towards the bottom of page 67 and the other in the middle of page 123) that encapsulate the entire book. The rest is analysis, discussion, and convincing. Overall, the book was a good reminder that to govern ourselves, the people need to understand the government and what it does for us (or against us). More & more policies are hidden or “submerged”, which puts democracy at risk.
March 7, 2023
Mindblowing statistics and narrative description of the submerged welfare state from 2011. Formative in my understanding of how American democracy is undermined by average people feeling disenfranchised from the functions of government.
July 16, 2025
The idea of the submerged state is very interesting. However, I felt as though Mettler fails to make a persuasive case that a visible is necessary for the government to function relying on a few sentences to make the claim
October 27, 2019
big structural change is long overdue
October 11, 2022
Interesting but overly academic in its style.
December 7, 2022
Read it for class, retained nothing, getting tested on it. Wonderful. Do not recommend unless you are interested however book is likely out of date as it relates to Obama presidency period
October 2, 2021
A really, really interesting book, and one that extends into the twenty-first century many of Balogh's arguments in 'A Government Out of Sight.'
The lack of public awareness of the submerged state, not to mention its upwardly redistributive activities, is scandalous.
The lack of public awareness of the submerged state, not to mention its upwardly redistributive activities, is scandalous.
September 18, 2012
Great content and data, but still a dense, boring, academic read that somehow manages to be too short? Needs to be rewritten and clarified for popular consumption.
October 5, 2012
Interesting thesis, and true. Dry read. not enough new info for me. The binding on my copy fell apart so I returned to Amazon for a refund rather than replacement copy.
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