Public Policy in the U.S.

Public Policy in the U.S.

• Public policy involves programs providing resources, regulations protecting citizens, and equitable government funding.
• Policies are categorized by goals and societal sectors, often serving multiple purposes (e.g., food stamps).
• Policy implementation costs hundreds of billions annually, demanding understanding of spending goals and allocation.

Social Welfare Policy

• Developed during the Great Depression, social welfare became a major federal function.
• Policy aims to ensure equity in a democratic system operating with a free market.
• Poverty minimization is crucial to maintaining democratic stability, contrasting with short-term survival priorities.
• A safety net (e.g., Social Security) minimizes economic hardship impacts.
• Social Security, a major policy, cost the U.S. ~845billionin2014andisfundedviaa12.4845 billion in 2014 and is funded via a 12.4% payroll tax (up to 845billionin2014andisfundedviaa12.4118,500, split by employers/workers, or fully paid by the self-employed).
• Designed to address industrial era worker vulnerabilities (e.g., age-related physical decline, urban widows) by providing retirement benefits, disability pay, and supplemental income.
• Retirement benefits are an entitlement program, guaranteeing pensions to qualifying workers, based on lifetime earnings, with full retirement age increased to 67 for those born after 1959. Survivors (spouses, minor children) may also receive benefits.
• Disability pay is available to workers unable to work for minimum 12 months due to disability.
• Supplemental Security Income provides supplemental income for significantly disabled adults/children or elderly below a set income threshold.

Medicare and Medicaid

• Medicare, a payroll tax-funded entitlement program, provides low-cost health care for senior citizens, often not attainable through employers.
• It encompasses hospitalization coverage, fee-based supplemental coverage for doctor visits, and prescription drug benefits.
• Medicare faces long-term challenges like rising healthcare costs faster than inflation (cost ~$796 billion in 2019).
• Medicaid is a formula-based program, demanding income requirements for eligibility.
• Medicaid is partially funded federally and sometimes by states, with limited provider access. States often set income thresholds that limit beneficiary access. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) sought to change this.
• Collectively, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid comprise almost 48 percent of 2019 federal government spending.

Other Income Support Programs

• Many smaller programs provide supplemental income, often using a means-tested approach, having income limits (TANF, SNAP - food stamps, unemployment insurance, housing assistance).
• These programs combined roughly total ~$361 billion.

Education Policy

• Education encompasses educating citizens for governance and community leadership and preparing them for gainful employment.
• Historically, education was primarily a responsibility of states, with the national government playing a limited role in higher education.
• Federal government involvement has intensified as competition with other nations heightened, increasing access to educational resources and equity within the public/private sectors.
• Funding for higher education is primarily tied to student loans, grants, and work-study.
• Programs are also available for skill development and retraining to adjust to economic change.
• Federal support for elementary/secondary education focuses on resources for nontraditional programs (preschool, special needs) and to enhance the competitiveness of less-advantaged school districts.

Business Policy

• The government balances programs encouraging economic growth (helping businesses) with consumer protections (curtailing or regulating businesses).
• Two large sectors receiving government support are agriculture and energy through subsidies, covering risks in weather and oil exploration, crucial for voter base constituents in influential states.
• Subsidies also aim to maintain profitability.
• Policies create agencies like OSHA (worker safety), FDA (food safety), and the EPA (environmental protection) to ensure business practices don't endanger public health or the environment.