Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Social Welfare Policymaking Chapter 18 Edwards, Wattenberg, and Lineberry Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy Fourteenth Edition

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Types of Social Policy Social welfare policies provide benefits to individuals, through: 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 specific line

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Income, Poverty, and Public Policy Who’s Getting What? Income: amount of funds collected between any two points in time Income distribution: the “shares” of the national income earned by various groups Wealth: value of assets already owned

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Income, Poverty, and Public Policy Who’s Getting What? (Part 2) One-third of America’s wealth is held by 1 percent of the population. Top 1% wealth = Bottom 95% Top 400 individuals=bottom 50% (~160,000,000)

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Income, Poverty, and Public Policy Who’s Poor in America? Poverty Line: what a family must spend for an “austere” standard of living 36.5 million Americans—about 12.3 percent—were poor in 2006 Many people move in and out of poverty in a year’s time. Feminization of poverty: high rates of poverty among unmarried women

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Income, Poverty, and Public 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: burden falls relatively more heavily on low-income groups—opposite of a progressive tax Earned Income Tax Credit: “negative income tax” that provided income to very poor people in lieu of charging them income tax

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Income, Poverty, and Public Policy (What Part Does Government Play?) Government Expenditures Transfer payments: benefits given by the government directly to individuals Some transfer benefits are actual money, such as social security (an entitlement program) Other transfer benefits are “in kind” benefits where recipients get a benefit without getting actual money, such as food stamps (a means- tested program)

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Welfare Program Recipients  Back

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. MEDICARE CONCERNS PEOPLE ARE LIVING LONGER MEDICAL COSTS ARE INCREASING

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Figure Health Care Spending  Back

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Helping the Poor? Social Policy and Poverty Social Security Act of 1935— first government program to help people against absolute poverty Set up Social Security Program and AFDC Expanded by President Johnson’s “war on poverty” & “Great Society” programs

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Helping the Poor? Social Policy and Poverty President Reagan cut welfare benefits and removed people from benefit rolls. Conservatives argued that welfare programs discouraged the poor from solving their problems. Attitudes toward welfare became “race coded,” the belief that most people on welfare were African Americans.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Helping the Poor? Social Policy and Poverty The Welfare Reforms of 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act Each state to receive a fixed amount of money to run its own welfare programs. Two “continuous” years limit on welfare Lifetime limit of five years placed on welfare AFDC changed to TANF Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Welfare rolls declined.

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Immigration and Social Policy Myths about Immigration Most are (NOT!) illegal immigrants. Most are (NOT!) from Mexico. Most are (NOT!) consuming federal benefits while (NOT!) avoiding taxes. Immigration Today 13% of Americans=1st-generation immigrants. Many admitted with high skills & education.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Immigration and Social Policy Immigration has had little support throughout American history. Illegal immigration is a new issue last 30 years. Illegal immigration has been a major— though difficult—issue in presidential politics.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Immigration and Social Policy No general immigration policy until the 20 th Century. (Chinese banned in 1882.) 1924: Quota system favors northwestern Europeans and discriminates against others (including eastern Europe). Immigration from Latin America climbs after World War II.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Immigration and Social Policy Simpson-Mazzoli Act (1986) Path to citizenship (“amnesty”) 3 million illegal immigrants become citizens Employers forbidden from hiring illegals, but they cannot challenge documentation. Despite several proposals, no major policy changes since.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Immigration and Social Policy States are hardest hit by the costs of illegal immigration. Proposition 187 (CA) cut off public services to illegal immigrants; mostly found unconstitutional. Some states punish employers by taking away business licenses. Many battles over college tuition breaks.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Living on Borrowed Time: Social Security Senior Citizen Benefits Social Security since 1935 Medicare in Employers and employees contribute to the Social Security Trust Fund. The Trust Fund will soon be in the red as the ratio of workers to beneficiaries is narrowing.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. The Future of Social Security The problem: number of Social Security contributors (workers) is growing slowly, while number of recipients (retired) is growing rapidly At some time—currently 2038—payouts will exceed income. Solutions of cutting benefits or raising taxes are hard choices.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Rising Cost of Entitlements  Back

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Figure Social Security  Back

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Social Welfare Policy Elsewhere Most industrialized nations… are more generous than the U.S. have higher tax rates than the U.S. Other countries (especially Europe) have worked to reform their welfare programs, as their programs are in trouble, too.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. AMERICAN WELFARE COMPARED TO EUROPE U.S. MORECONCERNED ABOUT WHO “DESERVES” HELP TRADITIONAL EMPHASIS ON SELF-RELIANCE

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CHILD CARE COMPARISON CHILD CARE COMPARISON CHILD CARE COMPARISON

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Understanding Social Welfare Policy Social Welfare Policy & the Scope of Governm’t The growth of government has been driven by the growth of social welfare policies, which grows generation by generation. Democracy and Social Welfare The U.S. has the smallest social welfare system. There is considerable unequal political participation by those that use the programs. Elderly are well-organized and influential. The poor are not organized and influential.

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Summary Social welfare policies include entitlement and means-tested programs. Entitlement programs affect social welfare status but are expensive. Welfare has been reformed. Is Social Security next?

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Public Aid 2006 Constant Dollars

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Do Gov’t Programs Decrease Poverty?

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It has been argued that the main reason the United States does not have welfare state similar to that in Europe is the greater ethnic heterogenity in the United States. Reluctance to redistribute to other ethnic groups is argued to cause this. Research have found a statistically significant but relatively weak negative relationship between increasing ethnic heterogenity and support for redistribution and welfare as well as the degree of actual public spending. Related to this is that increased ethnic heterogenity is also associated with decreased “social trust” and social participation in the community.

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CountryPaid maternity leavePaid paternity leave Unpaid maternity leave Unpaid paternity leave Restrictions Antigua/Barbuda13 weeks 60% Argentina90 days 100%Two days Aruba12 weeks 100% Bahamas13 weeks 60% One week family- related leave Paid maternity leave may only be taken once every 36 months Barbados12 weeks 100% Belize12 weeks 80% Bolivia 12 weeks 100% of national min. wage + 70% of wages above min. wage Brazil 120 days 100%, salary partially tax-deductible for employers 5 days (Article 10, Paragraph 1, of Temporary Constitutional Provisions Act of Brazilian Constitution)[1] Canada 55% up to $485/week for 50 weeks (15 weeks maternity + 35 weeks parental leave shared with father)[14] 55% up to $485/week for 35 weeks parental leave (shared with mother)[15] 2 weeks Quebec, 70% up to $834.61/week for 25 weeks, then 55% up to $655.76/week for 25 weeks. As with the federal plan, there are 32 weeks of parental leave that can be shared with father. In addition, fathers are eligible for 5 weeks paid leave at a rate of up to 70% of their income or 3 weeks paid leave at a rate of 75% of their income. Chile18 weeks 100% Article 66 indicates 1 day paid; Law N° (2005) increased paternity leave to 4 days paid leave. (edward gonzalez-acosta, The New School) Colombia12 weeks 100% Law 755 (2002) appended a paragraph to Article 236 of the Labor Code to indicate that fathers have a leave of 4–8 days. (edward gonzalez- acosta, The New School) Costa Rica4 months 100% Cuba18 weeks 100% Dominica12 weeks 60% Dominican Republic12 weeks 100% Ecuador12 weeks 100% El Salvador12 weeks 75% Grenada 3 months 100% (2 months), 60% for 3rd month Guatemala84 days 100% Two days at birth of child Guyana13 weeks 70% Haiti 12 weeks 100% for 6 weeks Honduras 10 weeks 100% for 84 days Jamaica 12 weeks 100% for 8 weeks Mexico12 weeks 100% Nicaragua12 weeks 60% Panama14 weeks 100% Paraguay 12 weeks 50% for 9 weeksTwo days Peru90 days 100% Saint Lucia3 months 65% Trinidad/Tobago13 weeks 60%-100% United States 0 weeks (CA: 6 weeks 55%, NJ 6 weeks 66%, WA 5 weeks $250/week; pregnancy treated as disability: HI 58%, NY 50%, RI formula.)[16] 0 weeks (CA: 6 weeks 55%, NJ 6 weeks 66%, WA 5 weeks $250/week)[16]12 weeks Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 includes all public agencies and private companies with 50 or more employees within 75 miles. Employee must have worked for covered employer for at least 12 months prior, and at least 1250 hours in previous 12 months. Other restrictions apply. SeePaid Family Leave (California) for details in CA. [17] Uruguay12 weeks 100% Three days paternity leave for civil servants Venezuela18 weeks 100%

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. CountryPaid maternity leavePaid paternity leave Unpaid maternity leave Unpaid paternity leave Restrictions Antigua/Barbuda13 weeks 60% Argentina90 days 100%Two days Aruba12 weeks 100% Bahamas13 weeks 60% One week family- related leave Paid maternity leave may only be taken once every 36 months Barbados12 weeks 100% Belize12 weeks 80% Bolivia 12 weeks 100% of national min. wage + 70% of wages above min. wage Brazil 120 days 100%, salary partially tax-deductible for employers 5 days (Article 10, Paragraph 1, of Temporary Constitutional Provisions Act of Brazilian Constitution)[1] Canada 55% up to $485/week for 50 weeks (15 weeks maternity + 35 weeks parental leave shared with father)[14] 55% up to $485/week for 35 weeks parental leave (shared with mother)[15] 2 weeks Quebec, 70% up to $834.61/week for 25 weeks, then 55% up to $655.76/week for 25 weeks. As with the federal plan, there are 32 weeks of parental leave that can be shared with father. In addition, fathers are eligible for 5 weeks paid leave at a rate of up to 70% of their income or 3 weeks paid leave at a rate of 75% of their income. Chile18 weeks 100% Article 66 indicates 1 day paid; Law N° (2005) increased paternity leave to 4 days paid leave. (edward gonzalez-acosta, The New School) Colombia12 weeks 100% Law 755 (2002) appended a paragraph to Article 236 of the Labor Code to indicate that fathers have a leave of 4–8 days. (edward gonzalez- acosta, The New School) Costa Rica4 months 100% Cuba18 weeks 100% Dominica12 weeks 60% Dominican Republic12 weeks 100% Ecuador12 weeks 100% El Salvador12 weeks 75% Grenada 3 months 100% (2 months), 60% for 3rd month Guatemala84 days 100% Two days at birth of child Guyana13 weeks 70% Haiti 12 weeks 100% for 6 weeks Honduras 10 weeks 100% for 84 days Jamaica 12 weeks 100% for 8 weeks Mexico12 weeks 100% Nicaragua12 weeks 60% Panama14 weeks 100% Paraguay 12 weeks 50% for 9 weeksTwo days Peru90 days 100% Saint Lucia3 months 65% Trinidad/Tobago13 weeks 60%-100% United States 0 weeks (CA: 6 weeks 55%, NJ 6 weeks 66%, WA 5 weeks $250/week; pregnancy treated as disability: HI 58%, NY 50%, RI formula.)[16] 0 weeks (CA: 6 weeks 55%, NJ 6 weeks 66%, WA 5 weeks $250/week)[16]12 weeks Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 includes all public agencies and private companies with 50 or more employees within 75 miles. Employee must have worked for covered employer for at least 12 months prior, and at least 1250 hours in previous 12 months. Other restrictions apply. SeePaid Family Leave (California) for details in CA. [17] Uruguay12 weeks 100% Three days paternity leave for civil servants Venezuela18 weeks 100%

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. CountryPaid maternity leavePaid paternity leave Unpaid maternity leave Unpaid paternity leave Restrictions Antigua/Barbuda13 weeks 60% Argentina90 days 100%Two days Aruba12 weeks 100% Bahamas13 weeks 60% One week family- related leave Paid maternity leave may only be taken once every 36 months Barbados12 weeks 100% Belize12 weeks 80% Bolivia 12 weeks 100% of national min. wage + 70% of wages above min. wage Brazil 120 days 100%, salary partially tax-deductible for employers 5 days (Article 10, Paragraph 1, of Temporary Constitutional Provisions Act of Brazilian Constitution)[1] Canada 55% up to $485/week for 50 weeks (15 weeks maternity + 35 weeks parental leave shared with father)[14] 55% up to $485/week for 35 weeks parental leave (shared with mother)[15] 2 weeks Quebec, 70% up to $834.61/week for 25 weeks, then 55% up to $655.76/week for 25 weeks. As with the federal plan, there are 32 weeks of parental leave that can be shared with father. In addition, fathers are eligible for 5 weeks paid leave at a rate of up to 70% of their income or 3 weeks paid leave at a rate of 75% of their income. Chile18 weeks 100% Article 66 indicates 1 day paid; Law N° (2005) increased paternity leave to 4 days paid leave. (edward gonzalez-acosta, The New School) Colombia12 weeks 100% Law 755 (2002) appended a paragraph to Article 236 of the Labor Code to indicate that fathers have a leave of 4–8 days. (edward gonzalez- acosta, The New School) Costa Rica4 months 100% Cuba18 weeks 100% Dominica12 weeks 60% Dominican Republic12 weeks 100% Ecuador12 weeks 100% El Salvador12 weeks 75% Grenada 3 months 100% (2 months), 60% for 3rd month Guatemala84 days 100% Two days at birth of child Guyana13 weeks 70% Haiti 12 weeks 100% for 6 weeks Honduras 10 weeks 100% for 84 days Jamaica 12 weeks 100% for 8 weeks Mexico12 weeks 100% Nicaragua12 weeks 60% Panama14 weeks 100% Paraguay 12 weeks 50% for 9 weeksTwo days Peru90 days 100% Saint Lucia3 months 65% Trinidad/Tobago13 weeks 60%-100% United States 0 weeks (CA: 6 weeks 55%, NJ 6 weeks 66%, WA 5 weeks $250/week; pregnancy treated as disability: HI 58%, NY 50%, RI formula.)[16] 0 weeks (CA: 6 weeks 55%, NJ 6 weeks 66%, WA 5 weeks $250/week)[16]12 weeks Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 includes all public agencies and private companies with 50 or more employees within 75 miles. Employee must have worked for covered employer for at least 12 months prior, and at least 1250 hours in previous 12 months. Other restrictions apply. SeePaid Family Leave (California) for details in CA. [17] Uruguay12 weeks 100% Three days paternity leave for civil servants Venezuela18 weeks 100%

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. CountryPaid maternity leavePaid paternity leave Unpaid maternity leave Unpaid paternity leave Restrictions Antigua/Barbuda13 weeks 60% Argentina90 days 100%Two days Aruba12 weeks 100% Bahamas13 weeks 60% One week family- related leave Paid maternity leave may only be taken once every 36 months Barbados12 weeks 100% Belize12 weeks 80% Bolivia 12 weeks 100% of national min. wage + 70% of wages above min. wage Brazil 120 days 100%, salary partially tax-deductible for employers 5 days (Article 10, Paragraph 1, of Temporary Constitutional Provisions Act of Brazilian Constitution)[1] Canada 55% up to $485/week for 50 weeks (15 weeks maternity + 35 weeks parental leave shared with father)[14] 55% up to $485/week for 35 weeks parental leave (shared with mother)[15] 2 weeks Quebec, 70% up to $834.61/week for 25 weeks, then 55% up to $655.76/week for 25 weeks. As with the federal plan, there are 32 weeks of parental leave that can be shared with father. In addition, fathers are eligible for 5 weeks paid leave at a rate of up to 70% of their income or 3 weeks paid leave at a rate of 75% of their income. Chile18 weeks 100% Article 66 indicates 1 day paid; Law N° (2005) increased paternity leave to 4 days paid leave. (edward gonzalez-acosta, The New School) Colombia12 weeks 100% Law 755 (2002) appended a paragraph to Article 236 of the Labor Code to indicate that fathers have a leave of 4–8 days. (edward gonzalez- acosta, The New School) Costa Rica4 months 100% Cuba18 weeks 100% Dominica12 weeks 60% Dominican Republic12 weeks 100% Ecuador12 weeks 100% El Salvador12 weeks 75% Grenada 3 months 100% (2 months), 60% for 3rd month Guatemala84 days 100% Two days at birth of child Guyana13 weeks 70% Haiti 12 weeks 100% for 6 weeks Honduras 10 weeks 100% for 84 days Jamaica 12 weeks 100% for 8 weeks Mexico12 weeks 100% Nicaragua12 weeks 60% Panama14 weeks 100% Paraguay 12 weeks 50% for 9 weeksTwo days Peru90 days 100% Saint Lucia3 months 65% Trinidad/Tobago13 weeks 60%-100% United States 0 weeks (CA: 6 weeks 55%, NJ 6 weeks 66%, WA 5 weeks $250/week; pregnancy treated as disability: HI 58%, NY 50%, RI formula.)[16] 0 weeks (CA: 6 weeks 55%, NJ 6 weeks 66%, WA 5 weeks $250/week)[16]12 weeks Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 includes all public agencies and private companies with 50 or more employees within 75 miles. Employee must have worked for covered employer for at least 12 months prior, and at least 1250 hours in previous 12 months. Other restrictions apply. SeePaid Family Leave (California) for details in CA. [17] Uruguay12 weeks 100% Three days paternity leave for civil servants Venezuela18 weeks 100%