Welfare and Education Policy
AP U.S. Government and Politics
Politics of Policy
• Political agenda – “what people are trying to do.”
– President Obama – determined to change nation’s
healthcare system.
• Obama wanted a plan where government had more control
over healthcare.
• Republicans opposed this as they wanted to leave the majority
of healthcare issues in the hands of private businesses.
– Affordable Care Act signed into law in 2010.
• Supreme Court upheld most provisions as constitutional in
National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (2012).
– Most provisions set to begin by 2014, all by 2020 despite
America being divided on support of the act.
Poverty in America
• Poverty is a significant and persistent problem in
U.S.
– Families below the poverty line are considered poor and
eligible for certain forms of public assistance.
• 2010 – poverty line was about $22,000 for a family of four.
– 1/7 of Americans live below the poverty line.
• Poverty is especially apparent among single-parent homes, and
among minority group members.
– Poverty exists in rural areas as well as urban areas.
– U.S. has the highest level of poverty among advanced industrialized
nations.
Politics and Policies of Social Welfare
• At one time, the federal government was not
involved in social welfare policy.
– This approach reflected the idea of negative
government, the idea that government governs best by
staying out of people’s lives.
• The Great Depression changed this outlook.
– The New Deal altered Americans’ view of government,
leading to a belief in positive government.
• Positive government is the belief that government
intervention is necessary to enhance personal liberty and
security when individuals are impacted by economic and social
issues beyond their control.
• Democrats have traditionally favored positive government and
Republicans have traditionally favored negative government.
– Republicans opposed Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society program and most
voted against Medicare and Medicaid.
– Democrats voted against the 1996 Welfare Reform Act, which was
designed to cut welfare rolls and costs.
– Despite different views on social welfare issues, the parties
must work together because millions of Americans depend
on the government for benefits.
• Transfer payments are government benefits given directly to
individual recipients, like retirees’ social security checks.
• Most social programs are entitlement programs, meaning that any
individual who meets the requirements is entitled to the benefit.
– Ex. Social Security benefits.
• Individual benefit programs fall into one of two broad groups: social
insurance programs and public assistance programs.
Social Insurance Programs
• Over 50 million Americans receive benefits from
social insurance programs.
– Social security, Medicare, unemployment insurance, workers’ comp.
– These programs are known as social insurance, because
eligibility is restricted to people who pay special payroll
taxes while they are working.
• Social security is the main social insurance program.
– It is given to retirees and funded directly by the federal
government.
– Began in 1935 (part of New Deal) and is funded through
payroll taxes on employers and employees.
• Most Americans favor current or higher levels of social security
benefits.
• American people qualify for social security by paying taxes
during their working years, but the money they receive is
based on taxes paid by current workers.
– As people live longer, there will be fewer workers relative to retirees,
meaning that the inflow of payroll taxes will be lower than the outflow
of benefits to retirees.
– Unemployment insurance provides benefits for workers
who lose their jobs involuntarily.
• Unemployment insurance is a joint federal-state program.
• Benefits usually are terminated after 26 weeks, but Congress
can extend the eligibility periods in times of recession.
• In 1965, a liberal Congress created Medicare.
– The program, which is funded mainly through payroll
taxes, provides medical assistance to the retired.
• It does not cover all medical fees, but people have the option
of paying additional fees for increased coverage.
Public Assistance Programs
• Unlike social insurance, public assistance programs
are available only to the financially needy.
– A means test is used to determine eligibility.
• Applicants must demonstrate that they are poor to get
assistance.
– These programs are often referred to as “welfare.”
• Americans are far less supportive of public assistance than
they are of social insurance programs.
• Many Americans believe that public assistance programs are
more expensive than they are.
Types of Public Assistance Programs
– Supplemental security income is given to people who
have physical limitations on their ability to provide for
themselves.
• It is not widely criticized by the public.
– Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
attempts to reduce long term welfare dependency by
limiting length of assistance and giving states incentives
to place welfare recipients in jobs.
• States are given block grants used to help poor families with
their needs and to develop programs that help the parents find
employment.
– The strict federal guidelines in which the state programs operate has
dramatically reduced the size of welfare rolls.
– Head Start is an education program focused on helping
poor children at a young age.
• It provides free preschool, but many eligible children are not
enrolled and it has not met its performance goals.
– Earned income tax credit (EITC) is a tax credit given to
people who work full time and still need assistance.
– In-kind benefits are designed so that the recipient uses
the assistance in a specified way.
• Examples: food stamps, rent vouchers
– Medicaid provides health care for the poor.
• It is based on need and funded by tax revenues.
• As health care costs increase, so has the cost of Medicaid.
• It consumes about half of all public assistance dollars spent.
Culture and Social Welfare
• Many criticisms of welfare exist.
• Many Americans feel people on welfare can get by without it if
they tried.
• There is a political pressure to reduce welfare expenditures
and weed out undeserving recipients.
– The U.S. has the most inefficient welfare system in the
Western World.
• Welfare programs are very costly and it is difficult to determine
who is eligible, creating a heavily bureaucratic system.
– The U.S. spends as much, or more, on assistance for the
nonpoor than it does for the poor.
• Social Security and Medicare exceeds the amount spent on all
public assistance programs.
– The welfare program is criticized because many people
feel that some recipients take advantage of it.
• Many are on welfare for years without having a job.
– Why get a job if you can make more money on welfare?
Education in America
• Since the 1960s, the federal government’s role in
education has grown.
– Prior to this, education was largely the responsibility of state
and local governments.
• Equality is a guiding principle of public education.
– Despite this, all schools aren’t equal.
• The quality of education can depend significantly on the wealth of a
community in which a child is educated.
– Educational attainment is related to personal success, as
measured by income.
• Overall, more Americans than Europeans go to college,
resulting in higher lifetime earnings.
Improving America’s Schools
• Per pupil spending is higher in the U.S. than it is in
Europe.
– Despite this, America’s students rank below students in
Canada and most European countries on standardized tests.
• As a result of these test scores, policies aimed at strengthening
American schools were developed.
– School Choice provides students an option of leaving a
poorly performing school in favor of one that might provide a
better education.
• Charter schools are publicly funded, but get to select their curricula
and students.
– Public school supporters argue that charter schools drain their funds and
take away their top students.
– Vouchers also expand students’ options.
• Parents are given a voucher, which can be used to pay part of a
students’ tuition at a private school.
– Opponents of vouchers claim that they take resources away form
public schools and they are of little use to poor families because they
only cover part of the tuition cost.
• Mandatory High-Stakes testing is another
controversial topic in education.
– No Child Left Behind (2001) – George W. Bush persuaded
Congress to pass this legislation requiring national
testing in reading, math, and science.
• Schools that show no improvement are subject to decreasing
federal funding and their students can be allowed to transfer.
• Opponents of NCLB argue that it forces teachers to teach to
tests and undermines classroom learning.
– Many Democrats, who usually oppose NCLB claim that
the program has failed to provide schools with enough
resources to improve education.
• Overall, Republicans are more supportive of NCLB and school
choice than Democrats are.
– Is it fair to tie school funding to test scores?
Promoting General Welfare in America
– The U.S., unlike Europe, does not have government-paid
healthcare for all citizens, compensation for all
unemployed workers, or retirement benefits for all
elderly.
– American higher education is superior to that of Europe.
• The differences in priority are based on historical
and cultural differences.
• European democracy developed in response to centuries of
aristocratic rule, leading to social programs promoting equality.
• Democracy in America is based more on personal liberty, which
helped develop Americans’ feelings of self-reliance.