Social insurance programs have high levels of public support because:

• A. they always result in lower taxes for all citizens
• B. they eliminate all forms of market failure in the economy
• C. they provide benefits to individuals facing economic risks that are difficult to insure privately
• D. they guarantee equal income for every member of society

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Identify the key concept in the question: social insurance programs and why they have high public support.
2. Understand what social insurance programs are: government-run programs designed to provide financial support to individuals facing specific economic risks, such as unemployment, disability, or old age.
3. Recognize that social insurance programs are not primarily about lowering taxes or guaranteeing equal income, but about managing risks that are hard to insure privately due to uncertainty and information problems.
4. Recall that market failures occur when private markets cannot efficiently provide certain goods or services, and social insurance helps address these failures by pooling risk and providing coverage where private insurance markets may fail.
5. Conclude that the main reason for high public support is that social insurance provides benefits to individuals facing economic risks that are difficult to insure privately, offering a safety net that private markets alone cannot reliably provide.