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Social Welfare Policymaking

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... Welfare Policymaking. This is the 'butter' side of the 'guns and butter' argument! ... Examine the related concepts of income distribution and relative ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Social Welfare Policymaking


1
Social Welfare Policymaking
  • This is the butter side of the guns and
    butter argument!

2
Learning Objectives
  • Examine the related concepts of income
    distribution and relative deprivation.
  • Summarize how liberals and conservatives disagree
    about the conduct and impact of public assistance
    programs.
  • Identify the three major tasks of taxes and show
    how each can affect citizens income.
  • Summarize the effects that social welfare
    programs have had on the day-to-day living
    conditions of groups of Americans, such as the
    poor, the young, and the elderly.
  • Differentiate between entitlement programs and
    means-tested programs.
  • Indicate the role that entitlements play in the
    U.S. budgetary system.

3
Learning Objectives - 2
  • Identify the major American social welfare
    programs and the groups that benefit from them.
  • Contrast social welfare policy in the US with
    that of other major Western democracies.
  • Trace the evolution of Americas social welfare
    programs, with emphasis on the role of the Great
    Depression.
  • Compare and contrast the views of recent
    president of both political parties toward social
    welfare expenditures.
  • Explain why policy-making in the United States is
    very incremental in nature.

4
The Social Welfare Debate
  • Two main types
  • Entitlement programs Government benefits that
    certain qualified individuals are entitled to by
    law, regardless of need.
  • Means-tested programs Government programs only
    available to individuals below a poverty line.
  • Deserving vs. Undeserving poor

5
Income, Poverty, andPublic Policy
  • Whos Getting What?
  • Income amount of funds collected between any two
    points in time.
  • Wealth amount of funds already owned.

6
Income, Poverty, andPublic Policy
  • Whos Poor in America?
  • Poverty Line considers what a family must spend
    for an austere standard of living.
  • In 1999 a family of three had a poverty line of
    13,470.
  • Many people move in and out of poverty in a
    years time.
  • High rates of poverty among unmarried women

7
Income, Poverty, andPublic Policy
8
Income, Poverty, andPublic Policy
  • What Part Does Government Play?
  • Taxation.
  • Progressive tax people with higher incomes pay a
    greater share.
  • Proportional tax all people pay the same share
    of their income.
  • Regressive tax opposite of a progressive tax
  • Earned Income Tax Credit negative income tax
    that provided income to very poor people.

9
Income, Poverty, andPublic Policy
  • What Part Does Government Play?
  • Government Expenditures.
  • Transfer payments benefits given by the
    government directly to individuals.
  • Some transfer benefits are actual money.
  • Other transfer benefits are in kind benefits
    where recipients get a benefit without getting
    actual money.
  • Some are entitlement programs, others are
    means-tested.

10
The Evolution of American Social Welfare Programs
  • The New Deal and the Elderly
  • The Great Depression led many citizens to want
    the government to help protect against economic
    downturns and causes of poverty beyond their
    control.
  • Social Security Act of 1935 was the first major
    step by the federal government to help protect
    people against absolute poverty.

11
The Evolution of American Social Welfare Programs
  • President Johnson and the Great Society
  • Johnson declared a war on poverty and created
    many new programs and it was his leadership that
    made the difference.
  • Medicare, school-aid programs and anti-poverty
    programs were some examples.
  • Other programs were designed to provide training
    and jobs, not just transfer payments.

12
The Evolution of American Social Welfare Programs
  • President Reagan and the Limits to the Great
    Society
  • Reagan (like Johnson) played a lead role in
    getting attention on benefit programs.
  • Many programs had benefits reduced, and people
    were removed from benefit rolls.
  • Democrats worked to lessen the cut of the
    benefits to try and protect the truly poor.

13
The Evolution of American Social Welfare Programs
  • Welfare Reform in 1990s
  • Clinton (a Democrat) was able to pass a more
    significant welfare reform law than his
    Republican predecessors.
  • The new program put limits on the amount of time
    a person could receive benefits.
  • It also gave the states money to run their own
    welfare programs.

14
The Future of Social Welfare Policy
  • The Entitlement Programs Living on Borrowed
    Time?
  • Long-term sustainability of entitlement programs
    is hotly debated.
  • What can be done about Social Security?
  • Cut benefits?
  • Raise tax rates?
  • Allow people to invest on their own?

15
The Future of Social Welfare Policy
  • The Means-Tested Programs Do They Work?
  • Programs for the poor are not as popular as
    programs for the elderly.
  • The percentage of people in poverty has not
    changed significantly since the 1960s.
  • But there is little agreement on if the programs
    help people in poverty or not.

16
The Future of Social Welfare Policy
  • Social Welfare Policy Elsewhere
  • Many industrialized nations are more generous
    than the U.S.
  • But the tax rates are higher in those countries
    than in the U.S.
  • Other countries (especially European) have worked
    to reform their welfare programs.

17
Understanding Social Welfare Policy
  • Democracy and Social Welfare
  • The U.S. has the smallest welfare system.
  • There is considerable unequal political
    participation by those that use the programs.
  • Social Welfare Policy and the Scope of Government
  • When social welfare costs go up, the size of
    government goes up.
  • What goes up is often difficult to bring down.

18
Internet Resources
  • Census Bureau poverty reports
  • American Public Welfare Association
  • Heritage Foundation
  • Social Security Administration
  • Green Book
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