Economist's View: 'Important Reasons to Challenge Professor Mankiw'

Economist's View: 'Important Reasons to Challenge Professor Mankiw'

This captures an essential point (see here too):

Stepping back from these particulars, the larger point is that most government transfers take the form of social insurance against risks related to health, unemployment and poverty. As with private insurance, people shouldn’t expect the premiums they pay to equal the benefits they receive. What they should expect — and appreciate — is reduced risk of an economic shock that could turn their lives upside down.