Right now, the government often does the opposite. Many programs are hidden in the tax code, as Suzanne Mettler of Cornell explained in her book “The Submerged State.” Upper-middle-class families receive thousands of dollars from the mortgage-interest deduction without thinking of it as a government benefit. Lower-income families sign up for the earned-income tax credit by visiting a tax preparation company, which can make the benefit appear to come from H&R Block, rather than Uncle Sam.