The main focus of this study is the role of the state in the distribution process vis-a-vis the working class in the United States during the period 1952-1980. This focus led me to formulate and then answer a question: what is the net impact of the distributive activities of the state on the wages of the working class as a whole and various segments within it? In order to deal with this question I proposed a concept, net-tax, which is taxes paid to the state minus benefits and income received from it. The empirical findings of the article concerning the net-tax paid by labor led me to call into question the economically beneficial role of the welfare state in relation to the wages of the working class.
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