Social Welfare Policy
Chapter 19
What are welfare
programs?
• I. Two Types of Welfare
Programs
• A. Social Security and Medicare
• 1. Benefit all or most people
regardless of income but everyone
pays-”majoritarian politics”.
• 2. Social Security provides
retirement benefits.
• 3. Medicare provides medical
assistance to almost everyone at a
certain age.
What are welfare
programs?
• I. Two Types of Welfare
Programs
• A. Social Security and
Medicare
• 4. Politicians believe making
changes to these programs is
politically risky.
• 5. Measures such as raising the
retirement age are done to
postpone the tough decisions.
What are welfare
programs?
• I. Two Types of Welfare
Programs
• A. Social Security and
Medicare
• 6. Medicare- Federal Gov. pays
for part of the cost of medical
care for retired or disabled
people on Social Security.
What are welfare
programs?
• I. Two Types of Welfare
Programs
• B. Medicaid and Food Stamps
• 1. Help a smaller number of
people (those with low income).
• 2. Means tested- must fall below
a certain income level to
qualify.
• 3. Examples of “client politics”almost everyone pays, but a few
What are welfare
programs?
• I. Two Types of Welfare
Programs
• B. Medicaid and Food Stamps
• 4. Client programs will last
unless they lose political
legitimacy. Ex: Less public
support for AFDC led to it being
abolished in 1996.
• 5. Charitable Choice- allows
religious nonprofit groups to
compete for grants to carry out
welfare-to-work policies.
What are welfare
programs?
• I. Two Types of Welfare
Programs
• B. Medicaid and Food Stamps
• 6. TANF-Payments to needy
families with children through
block grants to States with
limits as to how long they can
receive funds.
• 7. Medicaid- pays medical
expenses of persons receiving
TANF or Supplemental Security
What are welfare
programs?
• II. Reforming Majoritarian
Welfare
• A. The Problem: Social
Security and Medicare will
soon cost more than what we
can afford.
• 1. More retirees (Baby
Boomers) means payroll
taxes will have to double to
pay the bills.
• 2. Rapidly increasing medical
What are welfare
programs?
• II. Reforming Majoritarian
Welfare
• B. The Solutions:
• 1. Raise the retirement age,
freeze retirement benefits and
raise Social Security taxes.
• 2. Privatize Social Security to
allow citizens to invest some or
all of their taxes into the stock
market.
What are welfare
programs?
• II. Reforming Majoritarian
Welfare
• B. The Solutions:
• 3. Use the first two options and allow
citizens to invest in handpicked
mutual funds.
• 4. Let the elderly take their Medicare
money and buy private health
insurance.
• 5. None of the above are popular.
Table 19.1: Public Views on Reforming
Social Security
Figure 19.1: SSI, TANF, and Food
Stamp Recipients, 1980-2002
U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2003, 371, 374.