Chapter Focus

Section 1 Business and Labor Policy

Section 2 Agriculture and Environment

Section 3 Health and Public Assistance

Section 4 Education, Housing, and Transportation

Chapter Assessment

• Business and Labor Policy Describe the interaction among government, business, labor, and consumers.

Chapter Objectives

• Agriculture and Environment Summarize past and current federal farm and environmental policy.

• Health and Public Assistance Identify the role of the federal government in health care, public assistance, and social insurance.

• Education, Housing, and Transportation Explain the federal government’s role in education, housing and urban renewal, and transportation.

Business and Labor Policy

Key Terms

mixed economy, laissez-faire, trust, monopoly, interlocking directorate, oligopoly, securities, collective bargaining, injunction

Find Out

• How did the federal government help unions to organize and grow?

• What are the overall aims of United States business policy regarding competition and consumers?

Business and Labor Policy

Understanding Concepts

Free Enterprise Are government regulations consistent with the principle of free enterprise? Explain your answer.

Section Objective

Describe the interaction among government, business, labor, and consumers.

In 1996 more than 47 percent of U.S. households owned stock and earned profits from them. Congress felt increasing pressures from constituencies to lower the federal capital gains tax on profits made from owning stocks. In 1997 Congress passed the Taxpayer Relief Act, cutting the capital gains tax from 28 percent to 20 percent.

A. Government promotes or discourages trade by placing tariffs on imports and uses tax incentives, government loans, free services and information, and direct cash payments to subsidize businesses.

I. Promoting and Protecting Business(pages 575–

576)

B. The Commerce Department provides information services, financial assistance, and research and development services to businesses.

C. The Small Business Administration offers credit subsidies, advice, and information to small firms.

Why do you think the federal government should or should not help small businesses? Explain.

Answers will vary. See Help for Small Businesses on text page 576.

I. Promoting and Protecting Business(pages 575–

576)

A. The Constitution’s commerce clause allows regulation of the economy.

II. Regulating Business (pages 576–579)

B. The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 regulated monopolies and corporate trusts that tried to restrain trade.

C. The Clayton Antitrust Act of1914 prohibited price-fixing and interlocking directorates; the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforces the act.

D. Today oligopolies in some fields dominate a particular industry.

II. Regulating Business (pages 576–579)

In what ways should Congress regulate big business? Explain.

Answers will vary. For a partial list of regulations, see Enforcing the Antitrust Laws on text page 579.

A. The 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act makes it illegal to sell foods or drugs that are contaminated, unhealthful, or falsely labeled.

III. Consumer Protection (pages 579–581)

B. The Federal Trade Commission protects consumers from misleading and fraudulent advertising.

C. Congress set up the Consumer Product Safety Commission in 1972 to protect consumers from hazardous products.

D. Congress created the Securities and Exchange Commission during the Great Depression to protect small investors from being misled about the value of stocks and bonds and to investigate cases of suspected fraud in the sale of securities; in 2002, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act required the heads of large corporations to be held personally responsible for improper accounting procedures.

III. Consumer Protection (pages 579–581)

III. Consumer Protection (pages 579–581)

What new regulations do you think Congress should pass to protect consumers? Explain.

Answers will vary. Students may consider the need for protections due to expanding international trade and electronic/communications technologies.

A. The American Federation of Labor was formed in the 1880s; workers organized unions to negotiate labor contracts.

IV.Government and Labor (pages 581–583)

B. New Deal laws of the 1930s guaranteed labor’s right to join unions, bargain collectively, and strike.

C. The Wagner Act of 1935, creating the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), was modified by the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947.

D. The Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959 helped end fraud in union elections and protect the rights of union members.

IV.Government and Labor (pages 581–583)

IV.Government and Labor (pages 581–583)

Do you favor “right-to-work” laws?

Answers will vary. See definition of “right to work” laws on text page 583.

1. Main Idea Use a graphic organizer like the one below to identify three laws passed by Congress that resulted in the growth of labor unions.

Checking for Understanding

Clayton Antitrust Act; Norris-LaGuardia Act; Wagner Act

___ mixed economy

___ laissez-faire

___ trust

___ monopoly

___ injunction

A. a form of business consolidation in which several corporations combine their stock and allow a board of trustees to operate as a giant enterprise

B. an order that will stop a particular action or enforce a rule or regulation

C. a business that controls so much of an industry that little or no competition exists

D. a system in which the government regulates private enterprise

E. the philosophy that government should keep its hands off the economy

Checking for Understanding

D

E

A

C

B

Match the term with the correct definition.

3. Identify Sherman Antitrust Act, Clayton Antitrust Act, Wagner Act, Taft-Hartley Act.

Checking for Understanding

The Sherman Antitrust Act was Congress’s first attempt to halt monopolies.

The Clayton Antitrust Act prohibited charging high prices in an area where little competition existed while at the same time charging lower prices in an area with strong competition.

The Wagner Act guaranteed the right of all workers to organize and bargain collectively.

The Taft-Hartley Act was the federal government’s first attempt to regulate certain practices of large unions.

4. What are the government’s main goals regarding competition and consumers?

Checking for Understanding

Its main goals are to maintain a competitive business environment and protect consumers’ interests.

5. Identifying Central Issues What general problems do the Federal Trade Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission address?

Critical Thinking

They address protecting the public from deceit or physical harm and ensuring fair product standards.

Free Enterprise Interstate commerce depends on an adequate system of highways funded by the federal government. Find out about highway construction plans in your area. Create a bulletin board display with a map of the planned construction and pertinent financial information.

Agriculture and Environment

Key Terms

price supports, acreage allotment, marketing quotas

Find Out

• What is the working relationship between the federal government and localities in carrying out environmental policy?

• How does American farm policy attempt to stabilize farm prices?

Agriculture and Environment

Understanding Concepts

Civic Participation What can citizens do to help protect the environment?

Section Objective

Summarize past and current federal farm and environmental policy.

In December 1997, the United States and 150 other nations met in Kyoto, Japan, to discuss the causes and effects of global warming. Many scientists believe increased emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases pose a dangerous threat to the environment. Even so, leaders of industrialized countries and developing countries found it difficult to agree on which nations should take the lead in cutting emissions.

A. Congress created the Agriculture Department in 1862; the Morrill Act established colleges of agriculture, the Homestead Act gave land to those willing to farm.

I. The Federal Government and the Farmer (pages 584–586)

B. In the 1920s, many farmers lost their land due to market changes and drought.

C. During the 1930s Congress made loans to farmers and limited crop production to increase farm prices.

I. The Federal Government and the Farmer (pages 584–586)

Why did farmers face problems in the 1920s and 1930s?

Low prices in declining markets followed by drought caused many to lose their lands.

I. The Federal Government and the Farmer (pages 584–586)

A. The Department of Agriculture provides marketing services to farmers.

II. Aid for Farmers Today (page 586)

B. Three federal programs prevent farm prices from falling below a certain level: price supports, acreage allotments, and marketing quotas.

C. Conserving the nation’s lands and forests is a vital responsibility of the Department of Agriculture.

II. Aid for Farmers Today (page 586)

What kinds of services should the government provide for farmers?

Students may consider the value of marketing services, price supports, and conservation.

A. The concern for a deteriorating environment, beginning in the 1950s, ultimately led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970.

III. Protecting the Environment (pages 587–588)

B. Air pollution regulation began in 1955 and was strengthened in the 1960s. In the 1990s, clean-air laws mandated sharply reducing car exhaust emissions and placed restrictions on power company wastes.

C. Water pollution laws prohibit the discharge of harmful amounts of petroleum and other dangerous materials into navigable waters.

D. The Water Pollution Control Act of 1972 set the goal of completely eliminating water pollution; since then, the law has been changed and amended to make it easier for states to comply with the Act’s standards.

E. As the EPA implemented environmental laws, communities complained about unfunded mandates. In 1996 Congress restricted the imposition of requirements unless funds were provided.

III. Protecting the Environment (pages 587–588)

III. Protecting the Environment (pages 587–588)

Do you agree with the critics of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) who say that its policies are often unrealistic and unfair? Explain.

Answers will vary. Students should cite specific examples of fair and unfair policies to support their positions.

A. Native Americans and early settlers found clear lakes and rivers, unending forests, and rich deposits of metal. Americans used these resources to build a strong industrial nation.

IV.Energy and the Environment (pages 588–589)

B. The 1973–1974 energy crisis resulted in a new energy policy.

C. Competing interest groups, such as energy companies and conservation organizations, struggle to shape new policies and programs that reflect their concerns; one example of this is the debate over oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

IV.Energy and the Environment (pages 588–589)

What new energy policies do you think the government should be planning?

Students should consider trade-offs between energy costs and a clean environment.

1. Main Idea Use a graphic organizer like the one below to compare clean air legislation of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1990s.

Checking for Understanding

1950s: Laws promoted research on air quality and provided technical assistance to states and communities. 1960s: Laws required states to set clean air standards and to prepare enforcement plans. 1990s: Laws required reductions in automobile emissions and industrial toxic chemical emissions.

2. Define price supports, acreage allotment, marketing quotas.

Checking for Understanding

Price supports is the program under which Congress buys farmers’ crops if the market falls below the support price.

Acreage allotment is the program under which the government pays support prices for farmers’ crops grown on an assigned number of acres.

Marketing quotas is a limit set among farmers to market only an assigned portion of an overproduced crop.

3. Identify Department of Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency, unfunded mandates.

Checking for Understanding

The Department of Agriculture provides support and assistance to farmers.

The Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, enforces and regulates laws related to the environment.

Unfunded mandates are programs ordered but not paid for by federal legislation.

4. How does the federal government attempt to stabilize farm prices?

Checking for Understanding

The federal government stabilizes farm prices with price supports, acreage allotments, and marketing quotas.

5. Predicting Consequences Analyze the economic and environmental effects of recent air and water pollution legislation.

Critical Thinking

It will provide cleaner air and water, but additional taxation may be required.

Civic Participation Choose a conservation project that you can do in your community. You might “adopt” a park, a pond, or a roadside to clean up and to keep attractive. Share your ideas with the class in the form of a proposal presentation.

Health and Public Assistance

Key Terms

social insurance, public assistance, unemployment insurance

Find Out

• What are the most recent changes in federal public assistance programs?

• What is the purpose of Social Security, and how does it operate?

Health and Public Assistance

Understanding Concepts

Federalism How do the states and federal government work together to provide unemployment insurance and public assistance?

Section Objective

Identify the role of the federal government in health care, public assistance, and social insurance.

Most of the federal government’s public assistance programs date from the Great Depression. In the 1930s Americans suffered great hardships and turned to the federal government for help. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Congress passed dozens of laws that began what critics called “the welfare state.”

A. As the Depression deepened, private charities and state and local governments could not cope with the problems of the poor.

I. The Impact of the Depression (pages 590–591)

B. The New Deal included the Social Security Act of 1935.

Do federal and local governments have a responsibility to care for people who need help? Explain.

Answers will vary. The degree of responsibility is today’s issue.

I. The Impact of the Depression (pages 590–591)

A. The Social Security Act provides for Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance; Medicare; and unemployment insurance.

II. Social Insurance Programs (pages 591–592)

B. Equal taxes on employers and employees finance the Social Security system.

C. Beginning in 1981 a financial crisis threatened the Social Security system because cash outlays exceeded income.

D. Raising the retirement age, taxing some benefits, and other changes attempted to keep Social Security going.

E. In 1965 Congress added Medicare, which pays a major share of hospital bills for senior citizens, to the Social Security system. In 2003 Medicare was reformed to include prescription drug coverage.

F. A tax on employers funds unemployment insurance.

II. Social Insurance Programs (pages 591–592)

II. Social Insurance Programs (pages 591–592)

II. Social Insurance Programs (pages 591–592)

What kinds of changes in the Social Security system do you support or oppose? Explain.

Answers will vary. See Changing the System on text page 591.

A. In 1974 Congress set up the Supplemental Security Income system for the aged, the blind, and the disabled.

III. Public Assistance Programs (pages 592–594)

B. In 1961 the food stamp program was created.

C. In 1965 Congress established Medicaid to help pay hospital, doctor, and other medical bills for persons with low incomes.

D. Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) was a program to aid families whose main wage earner had died, but more than 80 percent of children receiving aid had living, but absent, fathers.

E. Many Americans grew frustrated over the mounting cost of welfare programs while the level of poverty remained high.

F. In July 1996 Congress and the president agreed on an overhaul of welfare. AFDC was replaced with lump-sum payments to the states, who could design and operate their own welfare programs.

III. Public Assistance Programs (pages 592–594)

III. Public Assistance Programs (pages 592–594)

Do you agree or disagree with the 1996 changes in the federal government’s public assistance programs?

Answers will vary. Students should consider the results of welfare reforms.

A. Most federal spending on health goes for Medicare and Medicaid.

IV.Promoting Public Health (pages 594–595)

B. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a federal agency, tests food and drug products and can ban or withdraw drugs it finds unsafe.

C. Government funding promotes scientific research with possible applications in treating and preventing illness.

IV.Promoting Public Health (pages 594–595)

What do you think should be the goals for federal programs in the field of public health?

Answers will vary. Students should consider how their proposals would be implemented.

1. Main Idea Use a graphic organizer like the one below to show who is eligible for Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income.

Checking for Understanding

Social Security: retirees, survivors, disabled persons, Medicare recipients Supplemental Security: anyone 65 or older, blind or disabled persons, anyone with little or no regular income

2. Define social insurance, public assistance, unemployment insurance.

Checking for Understanding

Social insurance is government programs designed to help elderly, ill, and unemployed citizens.

Public assistance consists of government programs that distribute money to poor people.

Unemployment insurance is programs in which the federal and state governments cooperate to provide help for people who are out of work.

3. Identify Medicare, Medicaid.

Checking for Understanding

Medicare is a government program that pays a major share of the total hospital bills for the elderly.

Medicaid is a government program that helps pay doctor, hospital, and other medical bills for people with low incomes.

4. How did the welfare overhaul in 1996 affect Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC)?

Checking for Understanding

It replaced it with lump-sum payments to states. States were given authority to design and operate their own welfare programs.

5. Predicting Consequences Research the ethical arguments over stem cell research. Analyze the information and predict consequences of using or not using stem cells in research.

Critical Thinking

Some helpful drugs might come on the market sooner, but other, possibly harmful drugs would also become available.

Public Policy Interview three senior citizens who have used Medicare. Ask the following: How does the Medicare system benefit you? What problems have you had with the system? What improvements could be made to Medicare? Compare your answers with your classmates.

Education, Housing, and Transportation

Key Terms

urban renewal, public housing, mass transit

Find Out

• Why has federal housing policy been a political battleground for many years?

• What steps has the federal government taken since 1980 to support public education?

Education, Housing, and Transportation

Understanding Concepts

Federalism How do the states and the federal government work together to carry out transportation and housing policies?

Section Objective

Explain the federal government’s role in education, housing and urban renewal, and transportation.

The passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was part of a sweeping legislative program—the Great Society program— proposed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Other Johnson programs included Medicare, Medicaid, the Voting Rights Act, the War on Poverty, the Model Cities Program, and the Community Action Program.

A. Public education remains a local responsibility under state guidelines.

I. Public Education Programs (pages 597–599)

B. The federal government aids local schools and higher education institutions.

C. The Morrill Act of 1862 granted states public land for colleges. The G.I. Bill financed education for veterans of World War II and later wars.

D. The first general aid-to-education act was passed in 1965.

E. Federal aid for education is controversial; critics charge education should be a state and local concern.

F. In 1983 President Reagan appointed a commission to study why American students performed less well than European and Asian students.

G. In 1994 Congress passed the Goals 2000: Education in America Act to improve graduation rates and raise academic standards.

H. Through legislation like the No Child Left Behind Act, President George W. Bush’s administration has focused its education reform on testing and increasing student and teacher accountability.

I. Public Education Programs (pages 597–599)

What is controversial about the federal government’s policy of providing general federal aid to public schools?

Some people believe that federal aid leads to federal controls in an area that belongs to the states and therefore erodes local control of education.

I. Public Education Programs (pages 597–599)

A. The federal government began providing loans for homes and farms during the Great Depression.

II. Housing and Urban Programs (pages 599–600)

B. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is in charge of the Federal Housing Administration, which helps low-income families purchase homes.

C. Urban renewal has restored older neighborhoods but has also driven out lower-income residents.

D. Public housing has faced serious problems in attempting to provide affordable urban housing as many projects have become high-rise slums and centers of crime.

E. In the 1990s, reforms to the nation’s housing policy gave more control to state and local officials and focused on closing the gap between white and minority home ownership statistics.

II. Housing and Urban Programs (pages 599–600)

II. Housing and Urban Programs (pages 599–600)

What are the main arguments of those who support and oppose public housing programs?

See Public Housing Programs on text page 600.

A. In 1811 the first National Road was constructed. Federal funds have helped construct canals, dams, ports, highways, railroads, and airports.

III. Transportation Programs (pages 600–602)

B. In 1966 Congress created the Department of Transportation (DOT) to coordinate national transportation policies and programs.

C. DOT has numerous federal agencies, including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHA).

D. The Federal Road Aid Act of 1916 first gave aid to states that matched funds; states now receive billions each year to maintain the interstate highways.

E. Since 1995 the FHA has focused on transportation needs such as road maintenance and reducing traffic fatalities and congestion.

F. The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) provided funds to improve mass transit and develop high-speed rail systems.

III. Transportation Programs (pages 600–602)

III. Transportation Programs (pages 600–602)

Why do you support or oppose federal programs for mass transit in urban areas?

Answers will vary. See Mass Transit on text page 602.

1. Main Idea Use a graphic organizer like the one below to contrast the Democratic and Republican views on housing policy.

Checking for Understanding

Democrats: wanted the government to provide more low-income housing Republicans: wanted to get the government out of the housing business

2. Define urban renewal, public housing, mass transit.

Checking for Understanding

Urban renewal is programs under which cities apply for federal aid to clear slum areas and rebuild.

Public housing is government-subsidized housing for low-income families.

Mass transit is systems such as subways that are used to transport a large number of people.

3. Identify Federal Housing Administration, Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Checking for Understanding

The Federal Housing Administration, or FHA, guarantees banks and other private lenders against losses on loans they make to those who wish to buy or build homes.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, administers federal housing programs and offers rent assistance to low-income families.

4. Describe three programs the government initiated to aid education in the 1990s.

Checking for Understanding

Choice: students could choose any school; Goals 2000: adopted 8 goals; charter schools: to raise performance standards

5. What was the role of the FHA in helping individual families afford housing?

Checking for Understanding

The FHA guarantees banks and other private lenders against losses on loans they make to people who wish to build or buy homes. In so doing, the FHA has enabled many low- and middle-income families to get mortgages.

6. Demonstrating Reasoned Judgment Why do governments at all levels spend so much money to support education?

Critical Thinking

An educated public is a means to ensure democratic government; educated people are able to earn better incomes and thus help the economy and pay more taxes.

Federalism The federal government has developed several programs to ensure adequate housing for the people living in the United States. Find out about such programs that are established in your community that build or remodel homes for low-income families. Find out how the programs operate and who administers them. Share your findings with the class.

Reviewing Key Terms

1. The government tries the ________________ method to avoid storing overproduced grain.

2. A small number of powerful companies controlling a market is called an ________________.

3. A hands-off government approach to the economy is called ________________.

4. Stocks and bonds are forms of ________________.

5. A ________________ is an agreement among farmers to sell only a portion of an overproduced crop.

acreage allotment

Write the term or concept that best completes each sentence.

mixed economy marketing quotapublic assistance securitiessocial insurance oligopolylaissez-faire mass transiturban renewal acreage allotment

oligopoly

laissez-faire

securities

marketing quota

6. A federal program of ________________ provides a certain minimum standard of living to those who do not earn enough income.

7. Federal ________________ programs are designed to provide insurance against such social problems as old age, illness, and unemployment.

8. A _______________ is one in which the government both supports and regulates private enterprise.

9. The federal government supports ________________ in cities to help replace old buildings.

10. Cities build ________________ systems to provide a substitute for automobiles.

Reviewing Key Terms

public assistance

Write the term or concept that best completes each sentence.

mixed economy marketing quotapublic assistance securitiessocial insurance oligopolylaissez-faire mass transiturban renewal acreage allotment

social insurance

mixed economy

urban renewal

mass transit

1. Describe the business environment that led to the Sherman and Clayton Antitrust Acts.

Recalling Facts

Large corporations abused workers, squeezed smaller companies out of business, fixed prices, and created monopolies.

2. What commission was created in 1972 to protect consumers against hazardous products?

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) was created to protect consumers against hazardous products.

3. What three programs does the federal government use to prevent low farm prices?

Recalling Facts

The government uses price supports, acreage allotments, and marketing quotas to prevent low farm prices.

4. Why did the government enact the Social Security Act of 1935?

The act was the first social insurance program to come out of the Depression. It was designed as a long-term solution to the problem of providing economic security for American citizens.

5. What are the four major public assistance programs of the federal government?

Recalling Facts

They are Supplemental Security Income (SSI), food stamps, Medicaid, and Job Opportunities Basic Skills program (JOBS).

6. How is the federal government involved in education?

The federal government provides direct aid to local public schools and additional funds to be distributed through the states. The government provides even more support for higher education.

1. Civic Participation What debated issues have prevented the United States from having a clear and consistent energy policy?

Understanding Concepts

Conflicts between saving the environment and saving jobs and money, as well as conflicts among interest groups, have prevented the United States from having a clear and consistent energy policy.

2. Federalism Which clause of the U.S. Constitution underlies federal regulation of the economy?

Understanding Concepts

The Constitution grants Congress the power to “lay and collect taxes” for the general welfare and to “regulate commerce . . . among the several states.” The commerce clause in Article 1, Section 8, provides the constitutional basis for government regulation of the economy.

1. Identifying Assumptions What underlying assumptions about social problems can you identify in Arthur B. Laffer’s assertion that “The solution rests in less—not more—government” and in Victor Kamber’s view that “. . . we set up regulatory agencies in the first place to protect the public interest”?

Critical Thinking

Answers will vary.

2. Predicting Consequences Use a graphic organizer like the one below to show how a rapid rise in the elderly population and slower growth for the population under 30 could affect the Social Security system.

Critical Thinking

Then: the reserve funds will be depleted by paying more benefits out of less income.

1. How does the cartoonist present the difficulties of Social Security reform?

Interpreting Political Cartoons Activity

The cartoonist presents Social Security reform as an uphill battle. The government is attempting to push the large (number of) baby boomers up the hill of Social Security reform. (As baby boomers retire, a large segment of the population will not be working and contributing to Social Security, thereby depleting funds.)

2. How does the cartoonist portray baby boomers?

Interpreting Political Cartoons Activity

as large and bloated; Baby boomers represent a large segment of the American population.

3. According to the cartoon, who will financially support retired baby boomers?

Interpreting Political Cartoons Activity

the United States government

What is OSHA? What does it do?The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, an agency of the Department of Labor, enforces federal laws concerning health and safety in the workplace.

1) Possible answers include the impact of the Great Depression of the 1930s on workers. 2) Many workers joined unions and membership grew.

3) Answers will vary.

1) New Jersey 2) Nevada

3) No; land that is not built-up can include forests, parks, and waste lands as well as cropland, pasture, and rangeland.

1) more than three times larger

2) The actual dollar amounts are affected by inflation.

3) Answers will vary.

1) odd numbers which increase from west to east

2) even numbers which increase from south to north

3) running east to west in the middle of the country

Making a Scrapbook Collect visual evidence of government regulation in your life, such as warning labels on various products and in newspaper and magazine advertisements, content labels, disclaimers, product-use cautions, and so forth. You may make individual scrapbooks of the material you collect, or you may collaborate on a bulletin board display. Note that all warnings are the result of government regulation. Some are included to protect the manufacturer from liability in the event of misuse of the product by the consumer.

Meat Inspection  In the late 1800s, many people called the impure meat they ate “embalmed beef.” In 1906 the government required inspection of meat in interstate commerce. Then poultry inspection was mandated. Recent moves to inspect fish show that government involvement in this area continues to expand.

Spending for Social Programs  Since the end of World War II, the United States has greatly increased its funding for social insurance and public assistance. In 1950, for instance, the federal government spent $2.1 billion on social insurance. About 40 years later the amount was nearly $400 billion. Public aid expenditures went from $1.1 billion to $80 billion in about the same period.

President Lyndon Johnson

School expenditures

President Lyndon Johnson signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in a one-room schoolhouse in the presence of his first teacher. He signed the Voting Rights Act in the room where Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, and he signed the Immigration Act in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty.

The average per pupil expenditure for public schools in the United States in 1998 was $6,662. The range by state went from a high of $10,233 in New Jersey to a low of $4,256 in Utah. The national average for schoolteachers’ pay was about $41,575. The range went from an average of $52,500 in Connecticut to $29,145 in South Dakota.

More About Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990 The ADA defines disability as “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of . . . [an] individual, a record of such impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment.” Among the conditions covered by the act are orthopedic, visual, speech, and hearing impairments; infection with the HIV virus; muscular dystrophy, diabetes, and learning disabilities.

G.I. was originally the abbreviation for galvanized iron, which was the army clerks’ term for metal items such as trash cans. In time, people decided G.I. stood for general issue or government issue, and used it to mean any equipment issued by the army, and eventually the soldiers themselves.

An important job of the Federal Trade Commission is to alert consumers to fraudulent and deceptive business practices. One growing form of consumer abuse is telemarketing. The FTC offers this advice: Never give your credit card, checking account, or Social Security numbers to a caller you don’t know. If a telemarketer offers you a prize, particularly one you have to pay for, be very suspicious. Don’t buy something just because a free gift is being offered. Resist being pressured into making a decision on the spot. Hang up if a telemarketer calls before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.—it’s illegal. Telemarketers are not allowed to call you if you’ve already asked them not to. If they call again, hang up. Above all, if you are ever in doubt about an offer, ask to see it in writing.

Hang Ups

Analyzing a Statement Read the following statement made by economist Adam Smith in the 1700s: “People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment or diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public or in some contrivance to raise prices.” Is this statement true or false? Support your response.

Federal Versus Local Control of Education Find out more about the controversy over federal control versus state or local control of education. In addition to researching the issue, you may interview parents, teachers, administrators, and school board members. Present your views during a panel discussion with the other students.

Improving Your School’s Environment Identify a problem or an issue in the school’s neighborhood (traffic problems, inadequate lighting, graffiti, crime, for example). Then formulate a plan for improvement. Do neighbors or nearby businesses need to be involved? The police? Community leaders? Are funds needed? Would a car wash or bake sale provide enough funds to get started? If possible, carry out your plan.

Literature In his novel The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck chronicles the experiences of a farm family forced to leave Oklahoma as a result of the terrible dust storms that swept the Great Plains in the 1930s.

Henry B. Gonzalez (1916–2000) was the first Hispanic American from Texas to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Although Gonzalez grew up in an educated, economically comfortable family, he, like all Mexican Americans of the time, had to face prejudice and discrimination. He emerged from the experience a strong defender of the poor and a fighter against discrimination in all its forms. In fact, in 1946 Gonzalez resigned his new position as chief probation officer for the Bexar County (Texas) Juvenile Court when he was refused permission to hire an African American staff member.

Activity: Find out why Gonzalez, in January 1991, called for the impeachment of President George Bush.

Henry B. Gonzalez

Frances Perkins (1882–1965) became the first female cabinet member when President Franklin Roosevelt appointed her secretary of labor in 1933. Trade unionists vehemently opposed the appointment of a woman and made their opinions clear in a meeting with the president, but Roosevelt stood firm. According to a story at the time, he told his wife Eleanor (a firm supporter of women’s rights) that he did not mind the controversy because, he quipped, “I’d rather have trouble with them for an hour than trouble with you for the rest of my life.”

Frances Perkins (1882–1965)

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