Chapter 17

Social Welfare Policy

Pearson Education, Inc. © 2008

American Government: Continuity and Change9th Editionto accompany Comprehensive, Alternate, Texas, and Essentials Editions

O’Connor and Sabato

The Policy-Making Process Public Policy

An intentional course of action followed by government in dealing with some problem or matter of concern

Based on law Authoritative and binding on people Those who do not comply can be penalized.

The impact or meaning of a policy depends on whether it is vigorously enforced, enforced only in some instances, or not enforced at all.

Theories of Public Policy Elite Theory

Chosen few or elite make all important decisions in society.

Unequal distribution of power is normal and inevitable.

Other views Bureaucratic Theory Interest Group Theory Pluralist Theory

A Model of the Policy-Making Process Sequence of stages or functional activities

Policies do not just happen; rather they are the products of a predictable pattern of events

Problem recognition Agenda setting Policy formulation Policy adoption Policy implementation Policy evaluation

Problem Recognition and Definition Not everything qualifies as a problem

deserving of government intervention. Perceptions of government responsibility

play a role. These have changed over time.

Usually there is not a single agreed-on definition of a problem. Political struggles may occur at this stage.

Agenda Setting Agenda

A set of issues to be discussed or given attention

Systemic Agenda All public issues are viewed as requiring

governmental attention. A discussion agenda

Governmental (Institutional Agenda) The changing list of issues to which governments

believe they should address themselves

Getting on the Congressional Agenda President is an important agenda-setter for Congress Interest groups are major actors and initiators in the

agenda-setting process Major problems that evolve from crisis or other

extraordinary event may receive automatic agenda status

Individuals may also push issues to the congressional agenda Private citizens, members of Congress, other officials

Role of political changes Agenda setting is a competitive process

Constant process of forming the list of issues to be addressed by government

Policy Formulation The crafting of appropriate and acceptable proposed

courses of action to ameliorate or resolve public problems

Routine formulation A repetitive and essentially changeless process of

reformulating similar proposals within an issue area that is well established on the government agenda

Analogous formulation Handles new problems by drawing on experience

with similar problems of the past Creative formulation

Involves attempts to develop new or unprecedented proposals that represent a departure from existing practices

Policy Adoption

The approval of a policy proposed by the people with the requisite authority, such as a legislature

Major legislation requires much negotiation, bargaining, and compromise. Complex legislation takes time to pass. Legislation passed is often incremental.

Budgeting

Most policies require money in order to be carried out. A policy can be nullified by a refusal to

fund. Home Ownership and Opportunity for

People Everywhere

Having the potential to curb funding can be a powerful tool for congressional committee chairs.

Policy Implementation

The process of carrying out public policy through governmental agencies

Some are enforced by other means such as the courts Product liability Product dating

Techniques Used by Administrative Agencies Authoritative techniques

Rests on the notion that people’s actions must be restrained by government in order to prevent or eliminate activities or products that are unsafe, evil, or immoral

Incentive techniques Encourage people to act in their own best interest by

offering payoffs or financial inducements to get them to comply

Capacity techniques Provide people with information, education, training or

resources that will enable them to participate in desired activities

Hortatory techniques Encourage people to comply with policy by appealing to

their better instincts- “Just Say No”

Policy Evaluation The process of determining whether a

course of action is achieving its intended goals

Important players in this process Congressional committees Presidential commissions Administrative agencies University and Private research organizations General Accountability Office (GAO)

Evaluation research and studies can stimulate attempts to modify or terminate policies and restart the policy process.

Roots of Social Welfare Policy Early 19th century attitudes toward social

welfare were focused on belt-tightening and charity. NO governmental intervention

Late 19th century Farmers and rural Americans sought help

Failing commodity prices; exploitation of railroads

1890s severe economic depression Acceptance and expectance of government

intervention

Income Security Great Depression

Social and economic thinking began to change Idea that government could and should be used as a

positive influence in society FDR elected in 1932

Unemployment extremely high; bad for economy Created Civil Works Administration by executive

order to put people to work Creation of Social Security

1935 law established old-age insurance (Social Security) and assistance for the needy, children, and others, and unemployment insurance

Health Care National health insurance considered at time Social

Security legislation was passed AMA strongly opposed it; so it was omitted

1945 Truman put health insurance on the national policy agenda again First idea received favorably by public AMA opposed again; fearful of regulation

Medicare introduced by Johnson Provide hospital care for the elderly already covered

by Social Security Wilbur Mills (D-AR) Chair Ways and Means

Expanded policy: included Medicaid

Public Education Until the 20th century, public education had been almost the

exclusive province of the state and local governments. Responsibility for public education

Vested in the local community 1944 GI Bill began federal government’s involvement in

helping people pay for education beyond high school Pell Grants Loan guarantees $62 billion in student loans in 2004-2005

Reliance on local property taxes to fund schools Disparities among different districts

Today federal government assumes more responsibility for public education than it has in the past.

Social Welfare Policies Today: Income Security Programs Protect people against loss of income due to

retirement, disability, unemployment or deal or absence of family breadwinner Non-means-based programs

Social insurance Old age, survivors, and disability insurance Social Security Unemployment

Means-tested programs Social insurance

Supplemental Security Income TANF Family and Child Support Act

Welfare Reform of 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity

Reconciliation Act of 1996 Required single mothers with a child over five years of age to work

within two years of receiving funds Included a provision that unmarried mothers under the age of 18

be required to live with an adult and attend school in order to receive welfare benefits

Set a five-year lifetime limit for aid from block grants Included a requirement that mothers must provide information

about a child’s father in order to receive full welfare payments Cut off food stamps and SSI for legal immigrants Cut off cash welfare benefits and food stamps for convicted drug

felons Limited food stamps to three months in a three year period for

persons 18 to 50 years old who are not raising children and not working

Earned Income Tax Credit Program Designed to help the working poor

Helps them by subsidizing their wages and provides an incentive for people to go to work

Results in a net cash rebate for many low-income tax payers who pay no federal income tax

Created in 1975 – Senator Russell Long (D-LA)

Food Stamp Program Initial program was an effort to expand the domestic

market for farm commodities -1939-1943 Provided the poor with the ability to buy more food,

thus increasing demand for American agricultural produce

Made permanent in 1964 Extended nationwide in 1974 Benefits low income families Combats hunger and reduces malnutrition Food stamps went to over 25 million beneficiaries in

2005 at cost of $31 billion. Average participant’s monthly disbursement: $93 in

food stamps

The Effectiveness of Income Security Programs Entitlement programs

Income security programs to which all those meeting eligibility criteria are entitled

Spending for such programs is mandatory Funds must be provided for them unless laws

creating the programs are changed Difficult to control spending for this reason

Often a matter of considerable debate Range of such programs are characteristic

of all democratic industrial societies

Health Care U.S. government spends billions on health Provides hospital care for veterans, Indian Health Services Finances most medical research Spends a great deal on public health

Medicare Part A: automatic at age 65 Part B: optional; covers payment for items not covered by part A Financed by a payroll tax of 1.45 percent paid by both employees and

employers on the total amount of a person’s wages Baby Boomers – strain on system

Medicaid Provides comprehensive health care to all who qualify as needy In 2005, Medicaid served over 52 million people at a cost of 184.2 billion. Jointly financed by national and state governments Some variation by state in terms of who is covered

Public Health Managing infectious and chronic disease

Public Education 2003: national, state, and local

governments in U.S. collected more than $400 billion to spend on public education (K-12) 48.7% from state governments 42.8% from local governments 8.5% from the national government

Great variation across states in spending per student

Public Education Federal aid to education

Goals 2000 No Child Left Behind

Inequality in spending among school districts

Voucher plans Charter schools

Public Education: Voucher Plans and Charter Schools Charter Schools

Permit some institutions (those with charters) to operate beyond the reach of school boards

Break the monopoly exercised by centralized school boards and allow students as well as parents to exercise choice

Freer to choose what to teach, what to spend money on, and whom to hire

Numbers have increased Opposition comes from teachers unions; focus on

hiring of under-qualified teachers Numbers of private education companies (for profit)

had questionable practices