BELLWORK Write down 3 Current Events from the Week-In-Rap.

Pass Forward Homework Chapter 21 Vocabulary Due… NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TAKE NOTES OF ANYTHING IN: BLACK

Social and Domestic Policy CHAPTER 21 Essential Question: How does politics affect social and domestic policies, and how do those policies affect your economic choices, your education and even the air you breathe?

Section 1: Business & Labor Policy The government promotes, regulates, and protects business. It promotes free trade but also uses tariffs to protect American industries from foreign competition. The federal government provides aid to businesses through tax incentives, government loans or credit subsidies, free services, and direct cash payments for goods and services considered vital to the general public. The Department of Commerce promotes business interests and aids small businesses.

Section 1: Business & Labor Policy Until the late 1800s, the government followed a laissez-faire approach to the economy. The rise of huge monopolies resulted in the Interstate Commerce Act, the Sherman Antitrust Act, and the Clayton Antitrust Act. Congress has passed other regulatory laws to protect consumers and ensure fair product standards. Workers joined unions to bargain collectively for better working conditions and wages. At first, the government favored business over labor unions. During the New Deal, government guaranteed labor's right to bargain collectively and to strike. Today, federal laws set minimum wages and maximum working hours and prohibit child labor.

A Brief History of Labor Unions Fill-in-the-blank: Unions help create the ________ _______.

Section 2: Agriculture & Environment The federal government supports American agriculture because farming is vital to the nation. The chief functions of the Department of Agriculture are to help farmers market their produce, stabilize farm prices through price supports and subsidies, conserve land, and promote research in agricultural science. The Department of Agriculture also has helped rural areas obtain electricity and telephone services. The Farmers Home Administration provides loans for farmers to buy land, livestock, seeds, equipment, and fertilizer.

Section 2: Agriculture & Environment Beginning in the 1950s, the federal government passed legislation to clean up the air and water. The Environmental Protection Agency was charged with enforcing a host of environmental regulations. Air and water pollution laws have improved the country's air quality and waterways. New laws require federal funding before imposing additional environmental requirements on state and local governments.

Section 3: Health & Public Assistance The Great Depression changed the federal government's role in the economy. The Social Security Act created a social insurance system that includes Social Security payments, Medicare, and unemployment insurance taken as payroll taxes. Public assistance programs include Supplemental Security Income, food stamps, Medicaid, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. As the baby boomer population ages, the Social Security system will face challenges in providing its payments.

Section 3: Health & Public Assistance The largest percentage of federal government spending on health goes for Medicare and Medicaid. Other health programs include medical care for veterans and their families and research programs. The Food and Drug Administration is a gov’t agency that tests food and drug products for safety. In 2010, Obama signed the Affordable Car Act into law. The ACA was enacted to increase the quality and affordability of health insurance, lower the uninsured rate by expanding public and private insurance coverage, and reduce the costs of healthcare for individuals and the government.

Section 3: Education, Housing & Transportation The federal government plays an ever- increasing role in providing aid to local schools and colleges. More funds have been allotted as the educational scores of American students have fallen below European and Asian students.

Section 3: Education, Housing & Transportation Several government-sponsored mortgage programs promote building and purchasing homes. Urban renewal programs supply federal aid for cities to rebuild deteriorating areas. Public housing programs were intended to provide low rents for low-income Americans. Many of the public housing projects faced serious problems, however, and the government gave state and local officials more control over housing decisions.

Section 3: Education, Housing & Transportation In 1966 Congress created the Department of Transportation to coordinate national transportation policies and programs. It oversees safety in aviation, federal highway programs, and the development of mass transit systems.

The Decline of Labor Unions in the US Follow along on with the handout and answer the question on a separate sheet of paper.

Closing Activity: Quick Write How do you feel about labor unions? Do you think that they are necessary? If they cease to exist, what do you think would happen to work in the U.S., what about it would change? (pay, conditions, etc.) (8-10 Sentences)