1. Essential Questions: Define laissez faire.
Explain the primary goals of U.S. social policy.
Discuss the validity of our current federal budget.
Evaluate the fairness of our tax system.
What are the different social policies we have in this country?
List the benefits of social policy programs for various groups.
How does federalism affect social policy?

2. Chapter 17
Public Policy

3. Public policy (Domestic)
Public Policy is the result of interactions and dynamics among actors, interests, institutions, and processes. The formation of policy agendas, the enactment of public policies by Congress and the president, and the implementation and interpretation of policies by the bureaucracy and the courts are all stages in the policy process with which students should be familiar. Policies are designed to meet the needs of the citizens in various ways.

4. Politics and Economics
Policies are great but how do we pay for all of it?
Deficit: when expenditures exceed revenues
National debt: the total amount of deficits we have had since George Washington was president
Debt is currently about 40% of GDP
People want lots of programs, but do not want to pay for them

5. History of the National Debt

6. How much should a government be involved?
No involvement?
Laissez-Faire – Hands off, let the market correct for everything
Complete involvement?
Regulatory – government makes sure that the economy and citizens are safe at times
Somewhere in the middle?

7. Types of Policies:
Distributive policies – allocate resources to a segment of society so that a service or benefit is gained; price supports for farmers, financial aid for college students; sometimes called pork & are the results of iron triangles; stable over time
Redistributive policies – take resources from 1 sector of society & transfer it to another; tax policy; groups with more financial resources & organization have bigger impact on these policies (home-owners deductions; deductions for people for sales of stock, bonds, real- estate); welfare, unemployment, social security
Regulatory – guide the operations of government programs; regulate business, labor, & energy, & environment; affected by competition & coalitions between interest groups

8. Policy-Making Process:
Agenda setting – problems are defined as political issues that gov’t needs to take action on (public v government); must be seen as a serious political problem; elected officials put an issue on the agenda if they’ll get political benefits or if they think political costs of doing nothing are too high
Policy formulation – formal proposals are developed & a decision is made whether or not to adopt one of those
Adopting the policy – action by the government through executive order, agency regulations, congressional legislation or court decision
Implementation – carrying out the policy; make sure people/businesses know about new regulations & give time for compliance; come up with penalties & enforcement; involves bargaining between different interest groups & levels of government through hearings, comment periods, etc; bureaucracy, courts, & police are involved in compliance
Policy evaluation – analysis of policy to see how well it is working (both public officials & private organizations are involved; feedback through studies to see good & bad consequences; could fine-tune or even throw out policy; starts again)

10. Federal Budget
The federal budget is a huge part of determining the direction the government is taking regarding public policy. The Constitution provides a few guidelines about the budget.
CONSTITUTIONALITY
DESCRIPTION
Article 1, Section 8, Clause 1
Congress is given the power to lay and collect taxes
Pay debts
Provide for the common defense and general welfare
Article 1
Gives the House of Representatives the power to initiate the process of passing all appropriations
Establishes power of Congress to impose excise taxes in the form of tariffs
Congress has the power to borrow money on the credit of the U.S.
Congress can appropriate only money that is budgeted
Article 1, Section 9
Prohibits excise tariffs
16th Amendment
Income tax is the only direct tax levied
McCulloch v. Maryland
States cannot tax the federal government

11. Social Policy
There is a debatable question of the extent to which the government should provide social welfare for federal, state, and local governments. There are consequences for a society that has a huge gap between the rich and the poor. The controversy revolves around the role the government should play in leveling this gap.
Taxes
Taxes are the major source of income for all levels of government. The are three basic types of personal taxes.
Progressive taxes
Regressive taxes
Proportional taxes
Another debate is which type of tax should be used to gain revenue as well as what programs should be eliminated as a part of our social policy.

12. Tax System Which is more fair?
Progressive taxes – the more you make, the more you pay. Poor pay less than rich
Income tax brackets rise as income rises
Regressive taxes – taxes with a cap, therefore people with low income take a larger hit because they have less discretionary income
Social Security taxes only the first $117,000. Any money after that is tax free
Proportional taxes - everyone pays the same percentage of taxes regardless of income. (poor have less discretionary income)
Sales taxes on products
(There is an exemption for yachts)
Which is more fair?

13. Social Security Act of 1935
Insurance for the unemployed and elderly—workers contribute and benefit
Everybody is eligible for insurance programs
Assistance for dependent children, the blind, and the elderly
Assistance programs are means tested (must be over a certain age or under a yearly income level)
Created during depression to help the elderly get out of the workforce safely, so younger workers could move in

14. Healthcare policies Is healthcare a right or a privilege?
US is a mostly private health care system
Traditional approach: fee for service. Paid for by insurance (3rd party payer).
Rising costs of health care -> HMOs: Health Maintenance Organizations

15. Federal involvement with health care
Medicare (a prescription drug benefit for Medicare patients was added during the first Bush 43 administration).
Medicare Act of 1965
Medical benefits were omitted in 1935 in order to ensure passage of the Social Security Act
Covers medical care for the poor and pays doctors’ bills for the elderly
Medicaid
Medical benefits to the poor and disabled

16. Problems w/health care
Rising costs
Uninsured. Working poor and unemployed unable to afford health insurance
High cost of malpractice insurance because of increased litigation
Unnecessary procedures, esp. to protect physicians from risk of lawsuit, e.g., growing number of caesarian sections.
Endless paperwork from fed. govt. and insurance companies
Lack of flexibility and choice with HMOs

17. Health care reform
An early priority of Bill Clinton, who appointed Hillary to head a task force on health care
Various proposals
Single payer, i.e., socialized medicine
“Managed competition.” Use of HMOs to accomplish “cost containment.” Problems of HMOs -> desire for “HMO patient’s bill of rights.”
Requiring coverage from employers.
Abolishing employer provided coverage and requiring people to buy health insurance individually

18. Reasons for failure of major health care reform
This was a major policy concern for Obama. One of his priorities is to insure those who are currently without health care insurance.
Reasons for failure of major health care reform
Reaction against Hillary’s task force
Added expenses imposed upon citizens
Congressional gridlock
Tainted with “socialized medicine.”
Interest group pressure
Contributions to members of Congress

19. Education Policy: Traditionally controlled by state & local
Impact of 10th Amendment
Federal Programs
Head Start program for disadvantaged preschool-age children, 1964
Elementary and Secondary Education Act, 1965: funding for disadvantaged students
Title IX of Education Act of 1972: banned sex discrimination in federally funded education programs
Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act, 1975
Nation at Risk Report – 1990
Federal government spends less than 10% of budget on education

20. No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
In order to receive federal funds for education, states must:
Adopt subject matter standards
Test all students in grades 3-8 on those standards
Identify low-performing schools based upon that testing
Require low-performing schools to develop improvement plans
Allow parents of students in such schools that do not improve to transfer to other public schools
ALL students must be proficient in state standards by 2014

21. Environmental Policy
Federal governmental action to regulate activities that have an environmental impact in the United States.
The goal of environmental policy is to protect the environment for future generations while interfering as little as possible with the efficiency of commerce or the liberty of the people and to limit inequity in who is burdened with environmental costs.
This policy grew mainly out of the environmental movement in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s during which several environmental laws were passed, regulating air and water pollution and forming the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

22. Conservative policies v
Conservative policies v. Liberal policies Partially due to the high costs associated with these regulations, there has been a backlash from business and politically conservative interests, limiting increases to environmental regulatory budgets and slowing efforts to protect the environment. An environmental statement is a document required by the National Environmental Policy Act(NEPA) to promote responsible decision making and release information to agency leaders and the public.

23. Since the 1970s, despite frequent legislative gridlock, there have been significant achievements in environmental regulation, including increases in air and water quality and, to a lesser degree, control of hazardous waste. Due to increasing scientific consensus on global warming and political pressure from environmental groups, modifications to the United States energy policy and limits on greenhouse gas have been suggested.

24. Impact of Federalism
Federal government has taken some involvement by attaching “strings” to federal grants to the states. States don’t have to take the money, but if they do, they must comply with those federal requirements
Even though states are not required to participate, the Federal Government makes funds available to states that adopt at least the minimum policies and procedures specified in some federal programs
NCLB, Speed limits, drinking ages

25. Social policy crash course

26. Essential Questions: Define laissez faire.
Explain the primary goals of U.S. social policy.
Discuss the validity of our current federal budget.
Evaluate the fairness of our tax system.
What are the different social policies we have in this country?
List the benefits of social policy programs for various groups.
How does federalism affect social policy?