Chapter 17 government
contributory programs
social programs financed in whole or in part by taxation or other mandatory contributions by their present or future recipients
noncontributory programs
social programs that provide assistance to people on the basis of demonstrated need rather than any contribution they have made -most important noncontributory program was Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) -Abolished by congress in 1996 and replaced it with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
supplimental nutrition assistance program(SNAP)
the largest antipoverty program, which provides recipients with a debit card for food at most grocery stores; formerly known as food stamps -SNAP and Medicaid are in-kind benefits -Goldberg v. Kelly: The Court held that these benefits could not be revoked without due process
early history of the welfare state
-Before 1935 -The welfare system was run mainly by churches, ethnic and fraternal societies, communities, and neighborhoods -There were two views of the poor: "deserving" and "undeserving" *deserving poor: widows, orphans, the seriously injured *undeserving poor: able-bodied people unwilling to work -Only the deserving poor typically received assistance
presidential housing priorities
-Clinton administration *Tried to combat homelessness but largely had to retreat -George W. Bush administration *Wanted to transform vouchers to block grants but failed -Obama administration *Forced to deal with the foreclosure problem, but federal programs did not experience much success
middle and upper classes
-Contrary to what most people think, the middle and upper classes also benefit from social welfare programs -Social Security helps people in the middle class by relieving them of costs associated with caring for elderly relatives -The middle class benefits from the "shadow welfare state" *benefits employers provide (e.g., medical insurance) *these benefits are not taxed by the federal government -The middle class benefits from the mortgage tax exemption
education policies
-Education policies are the single most important force in the distribution and redistribution of opportunity -Education is handled mostly by the state and local governments -The federal government began to take a larger role in education policy after World War II and beyond -GI Bill of Rights of 1944 -National Defense Education Act of 1958 -Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 *played a major role in supporting school desegregation
who gets what from social policy?
-Elderly -Middle and upper classes -Working poor -Nonworking poor -Minorities, women, and children
FDR's policies
-Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) became president in 1933 -FDR pushed for a stronger role for the federal government in combating poverty through contributory programs -The modern welfare state took form in 1935 with passage of the Social Security Act
background on welfare reform
-From the 1960s through the 1990s polls consistently showed that the public viewed most welfare recipients as "undeserving" *There was widespread belief that welfare recipients did not want to work and were taking advantage of the system *Some people argue that this negative view was based on racial stereotypes -In 1994, the number of welfare recipients reached a high point
the impact of the great depression
-In 1929, the Great Depression led to a surge in poverty -Private wealth shrank, reducing the money going to charities -Taken together, this created a crisis for the welfare system -The banking system also failed, wiping out savings -Businesses collapsed; many people in the middle class fell into poverty -Being poor was no longer viewed as a personal defect, but rather as a product of an imperfect economic system
the development of the welfare state; medicaid
-In 1965, the Medicaid program was established -Health insurance for the poor -The largest single expansion of noncontributory assistance -The federal government provides matching funds to the states *the states have leeway in determining eligibility -Doctors and hospitals do not have to take Medicaid patients
medicare and unemployment insurance
-In 1965, the Medicare program was established *Medicare was the biggest single expansion in contributory programs since 1935 -Unemployment insurance *Funded by a combination of federal and state taxes *In most states, benefits last for 26 weeks
benefits of contributory programs
-In 1972, Congress established indexing -Such modifications are based on cost-of-living-adjustments (COLAs)
politics of the ACA
-It is a highly contentious partisan issue -Leading Republicans have pledged the repeal of the ACA -State insurance exchanges were plagued by computer problems in 2013 *this harmed initial public perceptions of the ACA -The U.S. Supreme Court, however, ruled that most of the ACA is constitutional *the requirement for individuals to purchase insurance was ruled legal under Congress's taxing power
overview of welfare state
-Local governments and private charities handled the care of the poor for much of American history -But during the 1930s, this system of charity collapsed amid widespread poverty during Great Depression *the federal government responded to crisis -Over the years after Great Depression, a government system of social welfare developed and expanded
health care reform
-Major reform came with the Affordable Care Act of 2010 -Previous major reform efforts had failed -Franklin Roosevelt failed in his attempt to enact national health insurance in the 1930s -Bill Clinton's efforts to limit rising health-care costs and provide universal coverage never passed Congress -There were some smaller reform successes before 2010 *the expansion of health insurance to low-income children through the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) -Medicare reform: addition of a prescription drug benefit
minorities, women and children
-Minorities are disproportionately poor *Poverty rate for African Americans = 27.2 percent *Poverty rate for Latinos = 25.6 percent -This is more than double the rate for non-Hispanic whites -Expenses such as child care are more likely to affect women -Women in low-wage jobs are also unlikely to receive employer health insurance -The rate of child poverty has increased in recent years
the development of the welfare state: noncontributory programs
-Programs in this category are widely called "welfare" or "public assistance" -Recipients must demonstrate need via means tests *the federal poverty line determines whether individuals and families qualify for such benefits
beginnings of the welfare state
-Public aid to mothers with dependent children -Began in Illinois in 1911; had spread to 40 states by 1926 -Applicants had to pass a means test and prove they were deserving *assistance was only given to individuals who were "physically, mentally, and morally" fit *no assistance went to mothers with illegitimate children *the "moral fitness" test often was used as a cover to discriminate against minorities
the elderly
-Two major social policies benefit the elderly: Social Security and Medicare -Social Security has dramatically reduced poverty among the elderly since its inception *considered the most effective antipoverty program in the United States -Both Social Security and Medicare are politically strong *the elderly are seen as a deserving population *the programs are not means-tested and so have broader appeal
paying for the welfare state
-Spending on social programs has grown dramatically since the 1930s -There have been major spending increases on entitlement programs -The two largest entitlement programs are Social Security and Medicare -Funds to pay for these programs come disproportionately from payroll taxes
other non-contributory programs
-Supplemental Security Income (SSI) *Uniform minimum benefits for people who are elderly or disabled -States can do more but cannot go below the federal minimum -Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF) *TANF was created as part of welfare, replacing Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) *it includes income, education subsidies and discounts, job-training programs, and other benefits; the program varies by state -SNAP
charter schools
-The Obama administration has been a strong proponent of charter schools -Charter schools: publicly funded schools that are free from many of rules and regulations in the school district -Charter schools are free to design specialized curricula -Obama's American Reinvestment and Recovery ---Act included $4.3 billion for "Race to the Top" grants -To be eligible, states had to lift the caps on the allowable number of charter schools
welfare reform passes
-The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act became law in 1996 -Repealed the previous system, which was AFDC -Created block grants to the states, which were given more discretion to design their own systems -Established time limits, restricting recipients to two years of assistance at a time and a lifetime limit of five years -Imposed new work requirements
health care
-The U.S. Public Health Service has been in existence since 1798 -But it played only a small part of public-health policy until the mid-1900s -The National Institutes of Health (NIH) -Created to do biomedical research; focuses heavily on cancer and AIDS research -The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -Created to monitors outbreaks of disease and implement prevention measures
housing policies
-The United States has one of highest rates of home ownership in world -Federal policy has been to promote home ownership -Specific federal housing policies have evolved -Public housing projects were replaced in the 1980s with vouchers *vouchers provide recipients with support to rent *critics argue that vouchers provide too little money
opening opportunity: education
-The federal government also funds higher education -The GI Bill of 1944 expanded higher education opportunities to World War II veterans -The National Defense Education Act offered low-interest loans to college students -The Higher Education Act supplied assistance directly to colleges to provide need-based grants to students -The Pell Grant program offered grants to low-income students
spending on social security and medicaid
-The largest spending increases to the welfare state have come from Social Security -It is difficult to control these expenditures the program is an entitlement *payments are indexed to inflation -Large spending increases are involved in Medicare as well *Due to the growing number of people eligible for the program -Also due to rising health-care costs
welfare state and opportunity
-The welfare state is important to equality of opportunity -Three types of policies are most significant to opportunity *Education policies *Health policies *Housing policies
the working poor
-The working poor often fail to benefit from the "shadow welfare state" -Do not hold jobs that offer health insurance or pensions -Likely to rent, not own a home, so they get no mortgage deduction -The working poor do benefit from three major programs *ACA: heath insurance subsidies *Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): tax relief and a modest wage supplement *SNAP: food assistance
the nonworking poor
-They primarily benefit from TANF program -They may also receive benefits from SNAP and Medicaid *Able-bodied adults, who are not caring for children, are not eligible for assistance other than food stamps -There are record numbers of Americans on food assistance since Great Recession -Many states offer "general assistance" (cash assistance) *But most states have greatly reduced the amount
affordable care act
-Three key features of the ACA *Creation of new state-based insurance exchanges and prohibition against denial of coverage by insurers *Individual mandate -requires individuals to purchase health insurance or risk paying a fine -Government subsidies; expansion of Medicaid and SCHIP *designed to help the uninsured, small businesses, and the poor purchase insurance
entitlement
In 1970 case of Goldberg v. Kelly, the supreme court held that the financial benefits of AFDC could not be revoked without due process Ruling inaugurated concept of entitlement, a legal obligation of the federal government to provide payments to individuals, or groups of individuals, according to eligibility criteria or benefit rules
education policy under Obama
Obama initiatives -Waivers for the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requirements came with conditions -The states were required to show they had adopted strong standards -The states were required to link teacher evaluations to test results -To show that strong standards had been adopted, many states endorsed the Common Core State Standards -But Common Core has drawn sharp criticism
medicare
form of national health insurance for the elderly and the disabled
social security
a contributory welfare program into which working Americans contribute a percentage of their wages and from which they receive cash benefits after retirement or if they become disabled -Goal of social security is to provide a basic income to all workers once they retire -Provides survivor benefits for those whose parents die, retire or become disabled
medicaid
a federally and state-financed, state-operated program providing medical services to low-income people -Largest single category of expansion was the establishment in 1965 of Medicaid
means testing
a procedure by which potential beneficiaries of a public-assistance program establish their eligibility by demonstrating a genuine need for the assistance
cost of living adjustments (COLA'S)
changes made to the level of benefits of a government program based on the rate of inflation
forced savings
force americans to contribute to provide income and benefits for present day retirees with the understanding that young workers will do the same for them one day
tax expenditures
government subsidies provided to employers and employees through tax deductions for amounts spent on health insurance and other benefits -Represent a significant federal investment
in kinds benefit
non cash goods and services provided to needy individuals and families by the federal government
indexing
periodic process of adjusting social benefits or wages to account for increases in the cost of living
outdoor relief
private charity given in cash
equality of opportunity
widely shared American ideal that all people should have the freedom to use whatever talents and wealth they have to reach their fullest potential
