1. Chapter 13 Domestic and Economic Policy

2. The Policy Making Process agenda building -- identifying a problem and getting it on the agenda policy formulation – the debate that occurs between government officials, and between the public in the media, and in campaigns policy adoption – the selection of a strategy for addressing a problem policy implementation – the administration of the selected policy (by bureaucrats, the courts, etc.) policy evaluation – when the public, officials and groups determine if the selected policy has the desired impact

3. Major Government Assistance Programs oTemporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) – replaced AFDC in 1996, this program uses federal funds which are administered by the states to help needy families. oSupplemental Security Income (SSI) – provides a minimum income to the elderly and disabled who do not qualify for Social Security benefits. oFood Stamps – these coupons that can be used to purchase food are now distributed to more than 28 million Americans with little or no income oEarned Income Tax Credit (EITC) – a tax credit used by low income workers who get back part or all pf the their Social Security taxes

6. Economic Policy Making Fiscal Policy – the use of changes in government spending or taxation to change national economic variables, like the unemployment rate -Keynesian Economic Theory posits that using fiscal policy can alter economic variables (increasing government spending during economic turn downturns, for example) Monetary Policy – the use of changes in the money supply to change credit markets, unemployment and the inflation rate - Monetary policy is determined by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), part of the Federal Reserve System

9. Budget Deficits and the Public Debt ~ the deficit is when the government spends more money than it receives in any given year ~the public debt is the total amount of debt carried by the federal government, also called the national debt

12. Hot Links to Selected Internet Resources: Book’s Companion Site: http://politicalscience.wadsworth.com/schmidtbrie f2004 http://politicalscience.wadsworth.com/schmidtbrie f2004 Wadsworth’s Political Science Site: http://politicalscience.wadsworth.com http://politicalscience.wadsworth.com Project Vote Smart: http://www.vote-smart.org/http://www.vote-smart.org/ U.S. Census Bureau: http://www.census.govhttp://www.census.gov Social Security Online: http://www.ssa.govhttp://www.ssa.gov Office of Management and Budget: http://www.access.gpo.gov/usbudget http://www.access.gpo.gov/usbudget