Chapter 19: Social Welfare Devon Clifton, Meghan Gary, John Martin, Adam Smith

Majoritarian Politics Majoritarian politics- policies in which almost everybody benefits and almost everybody pays  Social Security and Medicare  Biggest problem is cost  Beneficiaries feel that benefits outweigh costs  Belief that the federal government have an obligation to help the poor and elderly

Client Politics Client politics- policies in which one small group benefits and almost everybody pays  Medicaid and Food Stamps  Means tested- applicants must fall below a certain income level to qualify  Biggest problem is legitimacy  Can be killed by changing political opinion  Belief that able-bodied people on welfare should be made to work for their benefits

Client Politics Take all the money, and move it somewhere else!

Insurance Programs Insurance programs- a self-financing government program based on contributions that provide benefits to unemployed or retired people  Medicare

Assistance Programs Assistance programs- a government program financed by general income taxes that provides benefits to poor citizens without requiring contribution from them  Unemployment Insurance  Temporary Insurance for Needy Families  Medicaid  Earned Income Tax Credit

Service Strategy vs. Income Strategy Both are policies that assist people in getting out of poverty Service strategy- provides people with education and job training Income strategy- gives people money directly

Social Security Created in 1935 by the Social Security Act Social security income- an assistance program that provides people over 65 or who are disabled with supplemental income

Alternative Solutions to Social Security Ball/Altman Social Security Plan  Increase maximum taxable earning base  Estate tax funding  Trust fund portfolio Libertarian Party- Ending Welfare State Proposal  End entire welfare system Raise the retirement age

Medicare and Medicaid Medicare- a federal health insurance program that covers most senior citizens and people with disabilities Medicaid- a federal system of health insurance for those requiring financial assistance

(Adam)

Major Social Welfare Legislation The New Deal  Federal Emergency Relief Act (1933)  Emergency Conservation Work Act (1933)  Social Security Act (1935) Great Society  Amendments to Social Security Act (1965)

Major Social Welfare Legislation Modern Legislation  Welfare Reform Act of 1996  Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program (TANF)  Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010)

The Bully Pulpit "Among our objectives I place the security of the men, women and children of the nation first. This security for the individual and for the family concerns itself primarily with three factors. People want decent homes to live in; they want to locate them where they can engage in productive work, and they want some safeguard against misfortunes which cannot be wholly eliminated in this man- made world of ours.”  -FDR (message to Congress July 1934)

The Bully Pulpit “"The truth is, in order to get things like universal health care and a revamped education system, then someone is going to have to give up a piece of their pie so that someone else can have more.”  Michelle Obama

Welfare and the Bureaucracy The Department of Agriculture  Supplies money for SNAP program  Requires every state to run an administration to deal with the food stamps program  Sets state-wide qualifications for SNAP

(John)

Federal Court Cases Anderson v. Roe (1999)  Ruled void the provision of the Federal Welfare Reform Act passed in 1995 that authorized residency requirements Zelman v. Simmons-Harriss (2002)  Court ruled that vouched were constitutional because they provide “true private choice” Marchwinski v. Howard (2002)  Court upheld that benefits could be taken away based on the results of a drug test

Resolve The federal government should mandate state-administered food stamps.