1. Social Welfare Policy Chapter 17 American Government
2006 Edition
(to accompany Comprehensive, Alternate, Texas, and Essentials Editions)
O’Connor and Sabato
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2. What is Public Policy?
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3. The Policy-Making Process
Public Policy
An intentional course of action followed by government in dealing with some problem or matter of concern.
Based on law.
Authoritative and binding on people.
Those who do not comply can be penalized.
The impact or meaning of a policy depends on whether it is vigorously enforced, enforced only in some instances, or not enforced at all.
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4. Theories of Public Policy
Elite Theory
Chosen few or elite make all important decisions in society.
Unequal distribution of power is normal and inevitable.
Other views
Bureaucratic Theory
Interest Group Theory
Pluralist Theory
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5. How do public policies
get established?
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6. A Model of the Policy-Making Process
Sequence of stages or functional activities.
Policies do not just happen; rather they are the products of a predictable pattern of events.
Problems must first be recognized and defined.
A problem that disturbs or distresses people gives rise to demands for relief, often through governmental action.
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7. Stages of the Public Policy Process
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8. A Model of the Policy-Making Process
Problem must get on the governmental agenda.
Formulation of alternatives for dealing with the problem.
Policy adoption is the formal enactment or approval of an alternative.
Budgeting provides financial resources to carry out the approved alternative.
Policy implementation is the actual administration or application of the policy.
Policy evaluation determines the policy’s actual accomplishments, consequences, or shortcomings.
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9. Problem Recognition and Definition
Not everything qualifies as a problem deserving of government intervention.
Perceptions of government responsibility play a role.
These have changed over time.
Usually there is not a single agreed-on definition of a problem.
Political struggles may occur at this stage.
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10. Agenda Setting Agenda Systemic Agenda
A set of issues to be discussed or given attention.
Systemic Agenda
All public issues are viewed as requiring governmental attention; a discussion agenda.
Governmental (Institutional Agenda)
The changing list of issues to which governments believe the should address themselves.
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11. Getting on the Congressional Agenda
President is an important agenda-setter for Congress.
Interest groups are major actors and initiators in the agenda-setting process.
Major problems that evolve from crisis or other extraordinary event may receive automatic agenda status.
Individuals may also push issues to the congressional agenda.
Private citizens, members of Congress, other officials
Agenda setting is a competitive process.
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12. Policy Formulation
The crafting of appropriate and acceptable proposed courses of action to ameliorate or resolve public problems.
Routine formulation
A repetitive and essentially changeless process of reformulating similar proposals within an issue area that is well established on the government agenda.
Analogous formulation
Handles new problems by drawing on experience with similar problems of the past.
Creative formulation
Involves attempts to develop new or unprecedented proposals that represent a departure from existing practices.
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13. Policy Adoption
The approval of a policy proposed by the people with the requisite authority, such as a legislature.
Major legislation requires much negotiation, bargaining, and compromise.
Complex legislation takes time to pass.
Legislation passed is often incremental.
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14. Budgeting Most policies require money in order to be carried out.
A policy can be nullified by a refusal to fund.
Noise Control Act
Having the potential to curb funding can be a powerful tool for congressional committee chairs.
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15. Policy Implementation
The process of carrying out public policy through governmental agencies.
Some are enforced by other means such as the courts.
Product liability
Product dating
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16. Techniques used by Administrative Agencies
Authoritative techniques
Rests on the notion that people’s actions must be restrained by government in order to prevent or eliminate activities or products that are unsafe, evil or immoral.
Incentive techniques
Encourage people to act in their own best interest by offering payoffs or financial inducements to get them to comply.
Capacity techniques
Provide people with information, education, training or resources that will enable them to participate in desired activities.
Hortatory techniques
Encourage people to comply with policy by appealing to their better instincts. “Just Say No.”
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17. Policy Evaluation
The process of determining whether a course of action is achieving its intended goals.
Important players in this process
Congressional committees
Presidential commissions
Private research organizations
General Accountability Office (GAO)
Evaluation research and studies can stimulate attempts to modify or terminate policies and restart the policy process.
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18. Roots of Social Welfare Policy
Early 19th century attitudes toward social welfare were focused on belt-tightening and charity.
NO governmental intervention.
Late 19th century
Farmers and rural Americans sought help
Failing commodity prices; exploitation of railroads
1890s severe economic depression
Acceptance and expectance of government intervention
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19. Social Security Costs and Revenues, 1970-2080
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20. Income Security Great Depression
Social and economic thinking began to change f
Idea that government could and should be used as a positive influence in society
FDR elected in 1932
Unemployment extremely high; bad for economy
Created Civil Works Administration by executive order to put people to work
Creation of Social Security
1935 law established old-age insurance (Social Security) and assistance for the needy, children, and others, and unemployment insurance.
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21. Health Care
National health insurance considered at time Social Security legislation was passed
AMA strongly opposed it; so it was omitted
1945 Truman put health insurance on the national policy agenda again.
First idea received favorably by public.
AMA opposed again. Fearful of regulation.
Medicare introduced by Johnson
Provide hospital care for the elderly already covered by Social Security.
Wilbur Mills (D-AR) Chair Ways and Means
Expanded policy: included Medicaid
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22. Growth in Medicare Expenditures
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23. Public Education
Until the 20th century, public education had been almost the exclusive province of the state and local governments.
Responsibility for public education
Vested in the local community
1944 GI Bill began federal government’s involvement in helping people pay for education beyond high school.
Reliance on local property taxes to fund schools
Disparities among different districts
Today federal government assumes more responsibility for public education than it has in the past.
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24. Social Welfare Policies Today: Income Security Programs
Protect people against loss of income due to retirement, disability, unemployment or deal or absence of family breadwinner.
Non-means-based programs
Social insurance
Old age, survivors and disability insurance
Unemployment insurance
Means-tested programs
May either come as cash or in-kind benefits, such as food stamps.
Supplemental Security Income
Family and Child Support
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25. Recipients of Social Insurance Programs, 2001
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26. Welfare Reform of 1996
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996
Required single mothers with a child over five years of age to work within two years of receiving funds
Included a provision that unmarried mothers under the age of 18 be required to live with an adult and attend school in order to receive welfare benefits
Set a five-year lifetime limit for aid from block grants
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27. Welfare Reform of 1996
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996
Included a requirement that mothers must provide information about a child’s father in order to receive full welfare payments
Cut off food stamps and SSI for legal immigrants
Cut off cash welfare benefits and food stamps for convicted drug felons
Limited food stamps to three months in a t hree year period for persons 18 to 50 years old who are not raising children and not working.
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28. Earned Income Tax Credit Program
Designed to help the working poor
Helps them by subsidizing their wages and provides an incentive for people to go to work.
Results in a net cash rebate for many low-income tax payers who pay no federal income tax.
Created in 1975 – Senator Russell Long (D-LA)
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29. Food Stamp Program
Initial program was an effort to expand the domestic market for farm commodities.
Provided the poor with the ability to buy more food, thus increasing demand for American agricultural produce.
Made permanent in 1964
Extended nationwide in 1974
Benefits low income families. Combats hunger and reduce malnutrition.
Food stamps went to over 21 million beneficiaries in 2003 at cost of $2.9 billion.
Average participant’s monthly disbursement: $84 in food stamps
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30. The Effectiveness of Income Security Programs
Entitlement programs
Income security programs to which all those meeting eligibility criteria are entitled.
Spending for such programs is mandatory.
Funds must be provided for them unless laws creating the programs are changed.
Difficult to control spending for this reason.
Often a matter of considerable debate.
Range of such programs are characteristic of all democratic industrial societies.
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31. The Rising Cost of Entitlement and Other Programs
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32. Health Care U.S. government spends billions on health Medicare
Part A: automatic at age 65
Part B: optional; covers payment for items not covered by part A.
Financed by a payroll tax of 1.45 percent paid by both employees and employers on the total amount of a person’s wages.
Medicaid
Provides comprehensive health care to all who qualify as needy.
In 2002, Medicaid served over 40 million people at a cost of 284 billion.
Jointly financed by national and state governments
Some variation by state in terms of who is covered
Aids Funding
High Cost of Health Care
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33. Medicare and Medicaid Costs
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34. Public Education
2003, national, state and local governments in U.S. collected more than $400 billion to spend on public education (K-12).
50% from state governments
43% from local governments
7% from the national government
Great variation across states in spending per student.
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35. Public Education: Voucher Plans and Charter Schools
Based on idea that free market competition can improve the quality of American education
Better performing schools expand while badly performing schools are closed.
But some say it would undermine public education.
Popular opinion, especially among minorities, has fueled the drive for voucher programs.
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36. Public Education: Voucher Plans and Charter Schools
Permit some institutions (those with charters) to operate beyond the reach of school boards.
Break the monopoly exercised by centralized school boards and allow students as well as parents to exercise choice.
Freer to choose what to teach, what to spend money on, and whom to hire.
Numbers have increased.
Opposition comes from teachers unions; focus on hiring of under-qualified teachers.
Numbers of private education companies (for profit) had questionable practices.
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