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
Who is Responsible
for the Needy?
“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.”
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
Means-Tested Entitlement
Entitlement
Programs such as Medicaid
and welfare under which
applicants must meet eligibility
requirements based on need
Programs such as
unemployment insurance,
disaster relief, or disability
payments that provide benefits
to all eligible citizens
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.
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
Public Assistance
Social Insurance
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Entitlements
Food Stamps
Family Assistance
Earned Income Credit
Medicaid
Social Security
Supplemental Security Income
Unemployment Compensation
Direct
Federal Aid
More than 80 million
Americans receive direct
federal aid.
Who are the Poor?
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 - Unemployment &
Disability Insurance
• Help for the Poor - •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
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
• 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
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 Problem
In order to “save” Social Security, should we
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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?
But then there are special interest groups to
content with, i.e. The AARP
• 36 million members
• Key focus: Social Security and Medicare system
programs
• Non-partisan
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)
- Social Policies Enacted
1. Civil Rights Act of 1964
2. Food Stamp Act of 1965
3. Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965
4. Higher Education Act of 1965
5. Department of Housing and
Urban Development Act of
1965
6. Child Nutrition Act of 1966
7. Fair packaging and Labeling
Act of 1966
8. Age Discrimination Act of 1967
9. Housing and Urban
Development Act of 1968
10.Open Housing Act of 1968
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
Social Policy Challenges for the Future:
Health, Education, and Crime
Health Care
o Public Health Service (PHS)
◦ U.S. Surgeon General
o National Institute of Health (NIH)
o Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• The Rising Cost of Health Care
o Rising life expectancy
o Advanced technology
o The government’s role in financing
health care
• Covering the Uninsured
o Health Reform legislation (2014)
2008 Health Care
Dollars
Where the $ are spent
Where the $ come from
A Comparative Perspective
15.7%
Federal
27%
10.6%
State/Local
17%
10.4%
11.0%
Business
21%
10.1%
8.1%
8.4%
2008
Private
7%
Households
28%
Infant Mortality and Life Expectancy Rates, 2007
Infant
Country
Mortality*
Life Expectancy†
Obesity
% of population Men (years)
Women (years)
Japan
2.6
3.4
79.2
86.0
France
3.8
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77.4
84.4
Germany
3.9
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77.4
82.7
Switzerland
3.9
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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.
Social Policy Challenges for the Future:
Health, Education, and Crime
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
The Federal Role in Education
Elementary and Secondary
Education
Higher Education
Head Start is an attempt
by the federal
government to invest in
the education of children
in low-income
communities
In 2005, the federal
government provided
roughly 70 percent of the
financial aid that college
students receive
– Funding only covers onethird of eligible children
Social Policy Challenges for the Future:
Health, Education, and Crime
Controlling Crime
o Department of Justice
◦Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
◦Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)
◦Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives
o USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 (Uniting & Strengthening
America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required
To Intercept & Obstruct Terrorism)
Crime Rates
Declining
Crime Rates
Theft Rates
Homicide 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 States
2000 - 2010
Unemployment
Rates
Energy Policy
 9/11 attacks made energy security a major
issue.
 Increasing concerns about global warming.
 2007 Energy Independence & Security Act.
 Growing interest in alternative energy.
Environmental Policy
• Environmentalism
– Conservation
– Preservation
Cleaning Up the
• The Environmentalist Movement
Air and Water
• Ecology
• 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.
Other Environmental Issues
• The Endangered Species Act (ESA)
• Global Warming
– The Kyoto Protocol
– The Global Warming Debate
• 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.
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. Declined
B. Doubled
C. Quadrupled
D. 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 Income
B. The Social Security Act
C. Disability Insurance Act
D. Unemployment Compensation Act