Chapter 19: Social Welfare

Devon Clifton, Meghan Gary, John Martin, Adam Smith

Majoritarian Politics

Majoritarian politics- policies in which almost everybody benefits and almost everybody pays Social Security and Medicare Biggest problem is cost Beneficiaries feel that benefits outweigh

costs Belief that the federal government have

an obligation to help the poor and elderly

Client Politics

Client politics- policies in which one small group benefits and almost everybody pays Medicaid and Food Stamps Means tested- applicants must fall below

a certain income level to qualify Biggest problem is legitimacy Can be killed by changing political

opinion Belief that able-bodied people on welfare

should be made to work for their benefits

Client Politics

Let Patrick help you remember!

Client politics draws money from everyone, but transfers it to a smaller group where it is most useful.

“Let’s take all the money, and push it somewhere else!”

Insurance Programs

Insurance programs- a self-financing government program based on contributions that provide benefits to unemployed or retired people Medicare

Assistance Programs

Assistance programs- a government program financed by general income taxes that provides benefits to poor citizens without requiring contribution from them Unemployment Insurance Temporary Insurance for Needy Families Medicaid Earned Income Tax Credit

Service Strategy vs. Income Strategy

Both are policies that assist people in getting out of poverty

Service strategy- provides people with education and job training

Income strategy- gives people money directly

Social Security Created in 1935 by the Social Security

Act Social security income- an

assistance program that provides people over 65 or who are disabled with supplemental income

Alternative Solutions to Social Security

Ball/Altman Social Security Plan Increase maximum taxable earning base Estate tax funding Trust fund portfolio

Libertarian Party- Ending Welfare State Proposal End entire welfare system

Raise the retirement age

Medicare and Medicaid

Medicare- a federal health insurance program that covers most senior citizens and people with disabilities

Medicaid- a federal system of health insurance for those requiring financial assistance

Historical Development

In the colonial period, towns would usually recognize an obligation to help people when efforts by family and friends were not sufficient. Almshouses, Workhouses, Asylums

as time passed aid gradually became distributed on a more organized basis.

Historical Development

Workers’ compensation was the first widespread form of social welfare. The result of a more industrialized

economy Adoption was still gradual and

pragmatic It took approximately 50 years for every

state in the union to assume one

Historical Development

Federal and state social welfare programs have bloomed and broadened

Still pragmatic Sweeping changes in welfare are

normally only accompanied by national events Great Depression/Social Security,

Major Social Welfare Legislation

The New Deal Federal Emergency Relief Act (1933) Emergency Conservation Work Act

(1933) Social Security Act (1935)

Great Society Amendments to Social Security Act

(1965)

Major Social Welfare Legislation

Modern Legislation Welfare Reform Act of 1996 Temporary Assistance to Needy Families

program (TANF) Patient Protection and Affordable Care

Act (2010)

The Current Administration

The democratic Obama Administration has taken stances that broaden the scope and magnitude of social welfare Healthcare Reform Employment Welfare Programs

The Bully Pulpit "Among our objectives I place the security of

the men, women and children of the nation first. This security for the individual and for the family concerns itself primarily with three factors. People want decent homes to live in; they want to locate them where they can engage in productive work, and they want some safeguard against misfortunes which cannot be wholly eliminated in this man-made world of ours.” -FDR (message to Congress July 1934)

The Bully Pulpit

“"The truth is, in order to get things like universal health care and a revamped education system, then someone is going to have to give up a piece of their pie so that someone else can have more.” Michelle Obama

Welfare and the Bureaucracy

The Department of Agriculture Supplies money for SNAP program

The Department of Health and Human Services Supplies money for Social Security

through the Social Security Administration

Supplies money for Medicare/Medicaid through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 

Interest Groups

Food Stamps Food Research and Action Committee CATO Institute

Social Security The Century Foundation AARP

Medicare/Medicaid AARP

Federal Court Cases Anderson v. Roe (1999)

Ruled void the provision of the Federal Welfare Reform Act passed in 1995 that authorized residency requirements

Zelman v. Simmons-Harriss (2002) Court ruled that vouched were constitutional

because they provide “true private choice” Marchwinski v. Howard (2002)

Court upheld that benefits could be taken away based on the results of a drug test

Resolve

The federal government should mandate state-administered food stamps.