Making Social Policy• The Role of the Federal Government in Social Policy

• The Expansion of Social Policy in the Twentieth Century

• Social Policy Challenges for the Future: Health, Education, and Crime

“As far as I’m concerned, they can do what they want with the minimum wage, just as long as they keep their hands off the maximum wage.”

Who is Responsible for the Needy?

The Role of the Federal Government in Social Policy •Public Versus Individual

•Public Versus Charity

•National Versus State and Local

•Most Western governments expanded their social programs long before the U.S. did

•Rather grudgingly, state governments in the early 20th century extended relief to low-income groups.

•From its founding, the government took care of its military veterans.

The Early History of Social Policy in the United States

The federal government’s effort to protect citizens against economic and personal hard times can be traced to the Great Depression and the Social Security Act of 1935.

America’s social welfare programs continued with the War on Poverty in the 1960s

The Early History of Social Policy in the United States

Most of these programs are means-tested entitlement programs. Public assistance in the United States today incorporates elements of job training, transportation subsidies, housing subsidies, free school lunches, food aid for poor families and pregnant mothers with young children, and tax credits for low-income people. The federal government also provides what some critics label “corporate welfare” to favored industries.

Entitlement

Programs such as unemployment insurance, disaster relief, or disability

payments that provide benefits to all eligible citizens

Means-Tested Entitlement

Programs such as Medicaid and welfare under which

applicants must meet eligibility requirements based on need

Types of Social Policy

•Social Policy Goals

•Federal domestic policy focuses on two broad goals

• Protecting citizens against poverty and misfortune

• Raising the quality of life for all Americans through policies that are available to all communities regardless of need

•Types of Protection

• Entitlements• Food Stamps• Family Assistance• Earned Income Credit

• Medicaid• Social Security• Supplemental Security Income• Unemployment Compensation

Public Assistance Social Insurance

Who are the Poor?Direct Federal Aid More than 80 million Americans receive direct federal aid.

In absolute numbers, most poor people are white. In both absolute and proportional terms, more women than men are poor.

The Expansion of Social Policy in the Twentieth Century

•The New Deal - President Roosevelt's New Deal plan expanded government programs so much that it has been called the "big bang" of domestic policy

• Help for Older Americans - Social Security (1935)

• Help for the Unemployed -

• Help for the Poor -

Unemployment & Disability Insurance•Infancy and Maternity

Protection Act of 1921

•Aid to Families with Dependent children (1935)

Social Security and

Medicare

Social Security - a social insurance program composed of two primary programs

• Social security was expanded in 1939 to include financial support for survivors of workers covered by Social Security when the retired worker died

• Expanded again in 1954 to include support for disabled workers

Old Age and Survivors Insurance Program, which pays benefits to retired workers who have paid into the program and their dependents and survivors

Disability Insurance Program, which pays benefits to disabled workers and their families

The Aged in the Future• During the baby boom, women averaged 3.5

births during their lifetime. Today the birthrate is only 1.8 births per lifetime

• 2.1 births per lifetime is what is needed to keep the population from declining

• The baby-boom generation will be retiring starting in 2010, and by 2030 they will constitute more than 80 million people, 20% of the population

• As it stands, members of Generation X will pay many times more into Social Security than they will ever get out of it

The Growing Number of Social Security Beneficiaries

Dependency Ratio - The number of recipients as a percentage of the number of workers

In the early years of Social Security, there were ten workers for each retiree. Today, there are only three workers per retiree.

Addressing the ProblemIn order to “save” Social Security, should we

• reduce benefits?• tie future initial benefits to the consumer price index?• reduce cost of living allowances?• raise the retirement age?• increases in the share of earnings subject to tax?

• 36 million members• Key focus: Social Security and Medicare system

programs• Non-partisan

But then there are special interest groups to content with, i.e. The AARP

The Expansion of Social Policy in the Twentieth Century

The Great Society - Social Programs Created

•Food Stamps

•Head Start

•Medicaid (1965)

•Supplemental Security Income (1972)

•Housing Assistance (1965)

1. Civil Rights Act of 19642. Food Stamp Act of 19653. Elementary and Secondary

Education Act of 19654. Higher Education Act of 19655. Department of Housing and

Urban Development Act of 1965

6. Child Nutrition Act of 19667. Fair packaging and Labeling

Act of 19668. Age Discrimination Act of 19679. Housing and Urban

Development Act of 196810.Open Housing Act of 1968

- Social Policies Enacted

The Expansion of Social Policy in the Twentieth Century

Reforming Welfare• President Clinton made a

promise to “end welfare as we know it”

• In 1996, Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act replaced AFDC with the Temporary Assistance to needy families

• This program helps welfare recipients find jobs in the wake of reforms

The Expansion of Social Policy in the Twentieth Century

Federal Payments to Individuals, 2010

Health Care

• The Rising Cost of Health CareoRising life expectancyoAdvanced technologyoThe government’s role in financing

health care• Covering the Uninsuredo Health Reform legislation (2014)

Social Policy Challenges for the Future: Health, Education, and Crime

o Public Health Service (PHS)◦ U.S. Surgeon General

o National Institute of Health (NIH)o Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

2008 Health Care Dollars

A Comparative Perspective

15.7%

10.6%

10.4%

11.0%

10.1%

8.1%

8.4%

2008

Where the $ are spent

Where the $ come from

Households28%

Private7%

Business21%

Federal27%

State/Local17%

Infant Mortality and Life Expectancy Rates, 2007Infant Mortality and Life Expectancy Rates, 2007

Country Mortality* % of population Men (years) Women (years)

Infant Obesity Life Expectancy† Infant Obesity Life Expectancy†

Japan 2.6 3.4 79.2 86.0

France 3.8 - - - 77.4 84.4

Germany 3.9 - - - 77.4 82.7

Switzerland 3.9 - - - 79.5 84.4

Canada 5.1 24.2 76.3 83.0

United Kingdom 4.8 24.5 78.3 81.8

United States 6.7 33.8 75.3 80.4

SOURCE: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Health Data, 2010, www.oecd.org. *Deaths of children under one year of age per 1000 live births in a calendar year. †Number of years a person born in 2007 can be expected to live.

Improving Education•Northwest Ordinance of 1785 - Congress set aside land in every township for a public school•Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) - Supplied educational materials for underprivileged public school students; provided funding for research on how to help children from disadvantaged backgrounds•No Child Left Behind Act in 2002 - Set national goals for student achievement in return for federal funding; states required to annually test at least 95 percent of all 3rd and 8th graders in reading and mathematics

Social Policy Challenges for the Future: Health, Education, and Crime

The Federal Role in Education

Elementary and Secondary Education

Head Start is an attempt by the federal government to invest in the education of children in low-income communities– Funding only covers one-

third of eligible children

Higher Education

In 2005, the federal government provided roughly 70 percent of the financial aid that college students receive

Controlling CrimeoDepartment of Justice

◦Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

◦Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)

◦Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives

oUSA PATRIOT Act of 2001 (Uniting & Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required To Intercept & Obstruct Terrorism)

Social Policy Challenges for the Future: Health, Education, and Crime

Declining Crime Rates

Crime Rates

Homicide Rates Theft Rates

The Federal Role in Crime Control

The United States has the highest incarceration rate among major world nations measured by the number of prisoners per 100,000 residents.

Incarceration Rates by Population Group

The Expansion of Social Policy in the Twentieth Century

Unemployment in the United States2000 - 2010

Unemployment Rates

9/11 attacks made energy security a major issue.

Increasing concerns about global warming.

2007 Energy Independence & Security Act.

Growing interest in alternative energy.

Energy Policy

Environmental Policy• Environmentalism

– Conservation – Preservation

• The Environmentalist Movement• Ecology

Cleaning Up the Air and Water

• The National Environmental Policy Act• Curbing Air Pollution

– The 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act of 1963 constitute a comprehensive policy mandating cleaner air in urban areas.

• Water Pollution– The Clean Water Act sought to make waters

safe for swimming, protect fish and wildlife, and eliminate the discharge of pollutants into the water.

• The Clean Air Act of 1990– As a result of legislation, air and

water pollution is down dramatically from what it was three or so decades ago. Lead content in the air is 3 percent of what it was. Sulfur dioxide is down by four-fifths.

Other Environmental Issues

• The Endangered Species Act (ESA)

• Global Warming– The Kyoto Protocol– The Global Warming Debate

The Federal Role in Immigration

• The Continued Influx of Immigrants– More than a million people a year immigrate to

this country. • Minority Groups will constitute the “majority” of

America by 2060.• Some point out the positives of immigration—

offsetting the low birthrate and aging population.• Attempts at Immigration Reform: 2006 Congress

initiated, but did not pass, sweeping legislation that would make all illegal immigrants in the United States felons.

The Politics of Social Policy

• Social policy is a major focus of American politics.

• Social policy will be part of the federal agenda far into the future.

• Citizens can influence social policy in several ways.

Changing Priorities in the Federal Budget

Since 1970 the cost of health care in the U.S. adjusted for inflation has ________.

A. DeclinedB. Doubled

C. QuadrupledD. Stayed constant

This 1972 program was passed to provide an extra measure of support for the elderly, the poor, and the blind or disabled.

A. Supplementary Security IncomeB. The Social Security ActC. Disability Insurance ActD. Unemployment Compensation Act