1. Government Responses to Social and Economic Inequalities

2. Government policies we will look at…
Welfare to Work
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)
No Child Left Behind (NCLB)
Every Student Succeeds Acts (ESSA)
Race to the Top
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)
Medicare/Medicaid and Obamacare
Minimum Wage

3. Welfare to Work

4. Welfare to Work
The main US Government strategy to reduce poverty is called ‘Welfare to Work’. Under this strategy, the poor are expected to ‘work their way out of poverty’.
‘Welfare to Work operates by the Federal and State Governments trying to support citizens to find work.
Welfare support such as Medicaid health insurance, child care, food stamps and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC is worth up $2853 per child) is only available to those actively seeking employment or who have taken up employment.

5. Success/Failure of ‘Welfare to Work’
Reaction to Welfare to Work has been mixed. Supporters of Welfare to Work claim that more people have been ‘encouraged’ into work and this has increased the incomes of the poorest (see graph below). It has also reduced the cost of the welfare budget (50 million Americans will claim $614bn in welfare payments 2008).
Opponents of Welfare to Work claim that is has forced many people to work for very low wages (‘burger flipping jobs’) and that it has not reduced inequality or poverty levels in the USA.

6. Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)

7. Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)
The main policy to reduce child poverty in the US is called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. This program, is federally financed but State run, and aimed at getting as many parents back to work as possible in order to provide for their children.
Again, welfare benefits are linked to finding or looking for work. TANF is only available for a maximum of 60 months although some states have reduced this further.

8. The TANF Emergency Fund, created as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, provided nearly $5 billion in federal funds to 52 states and territories and 25 tribes for basic assistance (such as food stamps), non-recurrent short-term benefits (childcare payments or summer food programs), and for subsidized employment.
With these funds, states placed 262,520 unemployed people in subsidized jobs, including 138,050 youth.

9. Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)

10. Analysis: Success/Failure of TANF
Success - Since TANF was introduced in 1996, the child poverty rate among single parents has fallen. Clearly, the ‘push’ provided by TANF to get single parents into work has been a success. Overall, less families today receive TANF as eligibility rules have tightened. In October of 2017, received some form of TANF benefit 1,081,680 . This had fallen to 974,847 by June 2018.
Failure - However, some commentators argue that the fall in US child poverty rates is because of an improvement in the US economy and not because of TANF. It is also pointed out that the level of child poverty in the US remains one of the highest in the developed world.
TANF in Kansas

11. No Child Left Behind

12. No Child Left Behind (NCLB)
When George W. Bush became President in 2000, he believed that too many public schools were failing their students.
In response, the then Republican-led Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act 2001.
This Act required schools within each state to reach a certain standard in basic skills (reading, writing, maths) if the state is to continue receive federal funding for education. Federal funding makes up about 10% of education funding across the country.
Bush hoped that by setting high standards in education and better tracking students progress, standards would be forced up.
Through this act, the federal government significantly increased spending on education.
The NCLB Act was replaced in 2015 by the the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)

13. Under NCLB states had to test students in reading and maths in grades 3 through 8 and once in high school.
States were required to bring all students to the “proficient level” on state tests by the school year, although each state got to decide, individually, just what “proficiency” should look like, and which tests to use.
Under the law, schools were kept on track toward their goals through a mechanism known as “adequate yearly progress” If a school missed its state’s annual achievement targets for two years or more, it was identified as not “making AYP” and was subject to a cascade of increasingly serious sanctions including:
A school that missed AYP two years in a row has to allow students to transfer to a better-performing public school in the same district.
If a school missed AYP for three years in a row, it had to offer free tutoring.
By /50 states had reached 100% proficiency.
The law also required states to ensure their teachers are “highly qualified,” which generally means that they have a bachelor’s degree in the subject they are teaching and state certification

14. There is fierce debate over the success of NCLB.
Supporters highlight the following successes of the Act:
reading scores and scores in maths have improved at their fastest rate for many years whilst reading and maths scores for Black and Hispanic children are at an all-time high.
the gap between Black/Hispanic children and White children’s scores in reading and maths are at the lowest ever levels.
No Child Left Behind had at least one significant — and, experts say, lasting — success: It changed the way the American educational system collects and uses data. NCLB forced schools across the country to figure out which students were being left behind, and to make that information public.
Districts such as Beverly near Boston adopted new programs aimed at identifying and helping struggling students – mainly from ethnic minority backgrounds - who might otherwise have fallen through the cracks. By 2005, Beverly was meeting the law’s standards for progress for all racial and income groups, and the performance gap among the groups had narrowed.

15. But critics of the Act claim:
reading and maths scores have improved as schools ‘manipulate results’ to retain funding; this has also occurred as States were allowed to choose their own tests.
Critics argue that NCLB relied too heavily on standardized tests and that the emphasis on math and reading tests has narrowed the curriculum, forcing schools to spend less time on subjects that aren’t explicitly tested, like social studies, foreign language, and the arts. This has made the USA less internationally competitive in terms of education.
It is also unclear that the two main remedies for low-performing schools did much to improve student achievement. In many cases, students did not take advantage of the opportunity to transfer to another school, or get free tutoring.
States and districts also had difficulty screening tutors for quality.

16. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
Signed by President Obama on December 10, 2015, replacing NCLB
Requires—for the first time—that all students in America be taught to high academic standards that will prepare them to succeed in college and careers.
States can pick their own goals, both a big long-term goal, and smaller, interim goals. These goals must address: proficiency on tests, English-language proficiency, and graduation rates.

17. For schools where subgroup students are struggling:
Schools have to come up with an evidence-based plan to help the particular group of students who are falling behind, such as minority students or those in special education.
Districts must monitor these plans. If the school continues to fall short, the district would step in, though there’s no specified timeline.
Importantly, there’s also a provision calling for states and districts to come up with a “comprehensive improvement plan” in schools where subgroups are chronically underperforming, despite local interventions.

18. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
As ESSA has only been fully implemented since the school year , we have very little evidence on it’s success/failure yet however it is clear that federal government still considers the improvement of education, particularly for ethnic minority groups a key priority.

19. The American Recovery and Reinvestment ACT (ARRA)

20. American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act 2009 (ARRA)
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act also known simply as “the Recovery Act” or “the Stimulus” is an economic stimulus package enacted by Congress in 2009.
The Act was based largely on proposals made by President Obama and was intended to provide a stimulus to the US economy in the wake of the economic downtown.
The measures are worth $787 billion.
The main purpose of the Act was to boost the economy following the recession by saving and creating jobs.
The Act also included tax cuts, expansion of unemployment benefits and other social welfare provisions, and an increase in domestic spending on education and health care.

21. American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act 2009 (ARRA)
Reaction: Economists in the US are divided over the ARRA. Some agree a stimulus package was needed to help US economy. Others feel ARRA will damage US economy as US national debt soars.
Success – When Obama came to office, 20,000 Americans were losing their jobs every day. Since the Act, hundreds of thousands of jobs have been created and the country is edging closer to emerging from recession. This has benefited the poorest Americans, many of whom are black or Hispanic.
Failure – The recession officially ended in late 2009, but by February 2015, unemployment rates were still higher than they were before the recession hit in Unemployment in 2005 was around 5%. Arguably this means that although there has been a recovery it has taken too long and many Americans, especially black and Hispanic Americans, are still struggling and facing inequalities in income and employment.

22. Healthcare and Insurance
In the first half of 2017 (Jan-June) it was estimated that 9% of the population – 28.8 million people – were still uninsured.
It is estimated that 26.9% of people earning less than $25,000 a year were uninsured.
Furthermore, not all employers provide insurance as part of employment contracts.

23. Percentage of adults aged 18–64 who were uninsured
2010 – June 2017
Although there have been clear improvements in the number of people getting health insurance in the past 7 years it is clear that inequality still exists in healthcare regarding race: Hispanics and African Americans are still more likely to be uninsured.

24. Government Healthcare Schemes
Medicare
Medicaid
provides health cover for:
people age 65 or older,
people under 65 with certain disabilities.
In 2010, Medicare covered about 48 million Americans. One in five is a member of an ethnic minority group.
Most people will have paid monthly contributions throughout their working lives to cover the scheme.
3 main parts:
Hospital insurance
Medical insurance (GP, Physio,etc.)
Prescription drug coverage.
Provides healthcare for low-income adults.
Children receive health coverage through Medicaid and the state Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
More than 58 million Americans rely on Medicaid services.
These people could not afford adequate healthcare without Medicaid.

25. Government Healthcare Schemes
Neither of these programmes will cover the cost of ALL treatments
There are some free hospitals which rely on voluntary donations from churches and other charities as well as getting some funding from the government. They treat the people that nobody else will, but are often poorly staffed and short of high quality resources.
Those who are in full-time, long-term work are more likely to have better access to health care than those who are unemployed or in part-time work. Again, ethnic minorities are less likely to be in full time employment than whites so are at greater risk.

26. Responses to Health Inequalities - Obamacare
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 2010 was introduced to increase the quality and affordability of health insurance, lower the uninsured rate and reduce the costs of healthcare for individuals
The law also requires insurance companies to cover all applicants within new minimum standards and offer the same rates regardless of pre-existing conditions or sex.

27. The Affordable Care Act
In 2010, President Obama and Congress signed the Affordable Care Act into law. Opponents nicknamed the act ‘Obamacare’.
We will now watch a clip about the Affordable Care Act.
You should answer the following questions as you watch:
Under the act, what four ways can people be covered?
What benefits might people see?
What happens if people don’t buy insurance?
Where does the money come from to fund the scheme?
This is another good clip to watch.

28. Obamacare Major features of the new law include:
young adults will be covered by their family's insurance plan until they turn 26.
more help for people who can't afford insurance.
insurance companies cannot deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.
People not covered by insurance by 2014 were required to get it or pay a fine. In 2014, uninsured people faced a fine of $95 or 1% of their income.

29. Why might these people oppose the Affordable
Opposition
Those who opposed the bill
challenged it in the Supreme Court
claiming it was ‘unconstitutional’.
In June 2012, the Supreme Court
ruled that the Affordable Care
Act was constitutional.
In 2013, people who make more than $200,000 have to pay an additional 0.9 % tax for the Medicare Hospital Insurance.
In 2014, businesses with more than 50 employees will have to insure their workers or pay a $2,000 fine per uninsured worker.
Why might these people oppose the Affordable
Care Act?

30. Obamacare
Success - Over 7 million Americans have taken advantage of the new system, exceeding expectations
Obama hopes that it will eventually lead to all Americans having healthcare coverage
Failure - Critics argue that it is irresponsible, calling it “socialised medicine”
Obamacare - Youtoons

31. Obamacare
Success - Multiple surveys indicate the number of uninsured Americans has fallen due to expanded Medicaid eligibility and health insurance exchanges established due to Obamacare.
In July 2014, an additional 9.5 million people aged had obtained health insurance, roughly 5% of the working-aged population.
The uninsured rate among adults 18 and over fell from 18.0% in 2013 to 13.4% by 2014.

32. Obamacare
Failure - On September 12th 2009, the Tea Party movement (a right-wing group associated with the Republican Party) organised a major protest against “Big Government” and Obama’s proposals, notably on healthcare reform.
Over 75,000 Americans protested against various issues including government spending and high taxes.

33. Arguments against (Republicans, Tea Party)
Arguments for
(Democrats)
Arguments against (Republicans, Tea Party)
Tens of millions of uninsured will get access to affordable quality health insurance
Encourages Americans to be lazy – don’t have to pay for own coverage
Reduces health inequalities – income no longer as important in gaining access to healthcare
Taxes will have to rise, especially for wealthier Americans
You can't be dropped from coverage when you get sick or make an honest mistake on your application. You also can't be denied coverage or treatment for being sick or charged more for being sick. You can't be charged more for being a woman either.
Insurance companies must cover sick people and this increases the cost of everyone’s insurance.
Obamacare is projected to cost $1.1 trillion over the next ten years
Obamacare helps to curb the growth in healthcare spending.
Focuses more on making sure people are covered than it does on addressing the cost of care in the first place.

34. The Minimum Wage
Life on $7.50 an hour

35. The Minimum Wage
President Obama was a prominent supporter of increasing the minimum wage
He favoured raising it to $9.50 an hour by 2011
In his State of the Union speech in 2012, he hinted at proposing legislation to raise minimum wage rate to $9.00 per hour sometime during his next term.
In January 2014 he signed an executive order raising the minimum wage for federal employees to $10.10 per hour and began garnering support for a bill to enact this change nationally.
In April 2014, the United States Senate debated the Minimum Wage Fairness Act
The bill would increase the federal minimum wage for employees to $10.10 per hour over the course of a two year period.

36. The Minimum Wage
The bill was strongly supported by President Barack Obama and many of the Democratic Senators, but strongly opposed by Republicans in the Senate and House.
Obama strongly supported increasing the minimum wage, giving speeches about it urging Congress to take action.
Obama argued that "if you pay people well, there's more money in everybody's pockets, and everybody does better.”

37. Current Minimum Wage
As of July 2009, the federal government mandates a nationwide minimum wage level of $7.25 per hour
Effective January 1, 2015 there were 29 states with a minimum wage higher than the federal minimum
The federal minimum wage peaked at about $10 in 1968, as measured in 2014 inflation adjusted dollars
In March 2014, Connecticut passed legislation to raise the minimum wage from $8.70 to $10.10 by 2017, the first state to address President Obama's call for an increase in the minimum wage.
In June 2014, the City Council of Seattle, Washington passed a local ordinance to increase the minimum wage of the city to $15 an hour, giving the city the highest minimum wage in the United States, which will be phased in over seven years, to be fully implemented by 2021.

38. US Minimum Wage Compared to other Developed countries

39. The Minimum Wage Arguments for Increasing Minimum Wage (Democrats)
Arguments against increasing Minimum Wage (Republicans)
Give Americans a fair wage – reduce poverty
Unaffordable – US debt already too high
Encourage people to work rather than claim benefits
Will harm small businesses – can’t afford to pay workers more
Stimulate the economy and improve productivity
Will have no positive effect on the US economy

40. The Minimum Wage
The pictures on the right are of protesters in the US city of Milwaukee in 2013
Fast-food workers staged an unprecedented one-day walkout in cities across the USA.
Hundreds of workers demanded a minimum wage of $15 an hour and the right to form trade unions
Many fast food workers have seen their wages cut since the recession but companies like McDonald’s continue to make huge profits

41. The Minimum Wage
Success – Obama’s proposals to raise the minimum wage have been successful to an extent. Federal employees now earn more per hour and therefore more are being lifted out of poverty. In addition, some states and cities have passed legislation to increase the minimum wage (Connecticut, Seattle).
Failure – However, many states have not increased the minimum wage meaning that many Americans are still surviving on low wages and relying on welfare. Recently, Obama’s hopes of gaining support for a big increase in the minimum wage have been restricted by the Republican controlled Congress. The US minimum wage remains lower than many other developed nations including the UK, Spain, France and Australia. This means that many people, particularly minorities, continue to live in poverty.

42. Overall…how successful have the Government been?
Various government policies have had limited success in tackling inequalities.
More people have health insurance as a result of Obamacare for example.
However, the USA today is more unequal than it has ever been.
Blacks and Hispanics continue to suffer in terms of income, employment, healthcare and education.
Today, the richest 1% of Americans own 40% of the wealth of the country.
Arguably, government policies in recent years have done nothing to reverse this overall trend. Perhaps social and economic inequalities are getting worse.

43. Evaluate the effectiveness of a world power you have studied in tackling social and economic issues. (12 marks)
Pick 4 government responses
1 paragraph for each
In each paragraph:
Describe the government response
Talk about the impact it has had – both positive and negative
Give an evaluation– i.e. overall how successful was the policy
You also need an overall a basic conclusion at the end as this an evaluate essay.