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What must beneficiaries demonstrate to qualify for means-tested programs?
What criticized aspect is commonly associated with redistributive programs?
What was a significant change made when TANF replaced AFDC?
Which of the following is an example of a corporate welfare policy?
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What is one criticism of subsidies given to businesses?
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What financial support does Medicaid offer?
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What was a significant flaw of the AFDC program before it was replaced?
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Which program provides financial assistance specifically for individuals with disabilities?
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What is the primary purpose of public policy?
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Which type of policy focuses on providing support to low-income groups?
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What is a potential drawback of government solutions to public problems?
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Which type of policy aims to control and protect common resources?
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What is the objective of distributive policies?
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Social welfare policies are designed to assist which of the following groups?
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Which example represents a redistributive policy?
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Which of the following is a potential consequence of government solutions?
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What are Social Insurance policies primarily designed to do?
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Which social insurance program is specifically for the elderly to help with medical costs?
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What does the Affordable Care Act primarily aim to provide?
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What controversial requirement was part of the Affordable Care Act before its repeal?
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Which of the following is a major challenge that Social Insurance programs face?
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Why does the U.S. stand out among industrialized nations regarding healthcare?
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Who is primarily targeted by Medicaid?
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What is fiscal policy mainly concerned with?
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What type of tax is characterized by increasing rates as income increases?
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What best describes monetary policy?
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Which policy focuses on emergency threats to national interests?
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What is strategic policy designed to accomplish?
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Which agency is primarily responsible for overseeing foreign policy?
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What type of tax applies equally to everyone regardless of income level?
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What does structural defense policy focus on?
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Which branch of government oversees the armed forces in the United States?
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What is the primary purpose of the War Powers Resolution of 1973?
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How long can the president initiate hostilities without congressional authorization?
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What is the main idea behind isolationism as a foreign policy?
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What does liberal internationalism advocate in terms of U.S. foreign policy?
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Which action can Congress take if there is no declaration of war after 60 days?
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Which of the following is a characteristic of redistributive policies?
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What is one primary aim of social welfare policies?
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What aspect makes regulatory policies distinct from other types of policies?
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What is a common criticism of welfare programs that are redistributive?
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What significant feature distinguishes the TANF program from its predecessor AFDC?
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How are corporate welfare policies typically funded?
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Which aspect of social welfare policies is often debated regarding their beneficiaries?
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What is a characteristic of means-tested programs?
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What was a significant component of the Affordable Care Act that faced controversy?
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What group primarily lacks health insurance in the United States?
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Which of the following healthcare programs was established specifically in 1965 for low-income individuals?
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What is a defining characteristic of Social Insurance programs?
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Which healthcare system is the U.S. lacking compared to other industrialized nations?
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What significant healthcare act was repealed in 2017?
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What is commonly regarded as a major drawback of redistributive programs?
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What is a key focus of the financial assistance offered by Medicaid?
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What is a distinctive impact of redistributive policies on government structure?
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What is a common critique of regulatory policies?
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Study Notes
Public Policy
- A course of action requiring government action to solve a public problem.
- Often comes with downsides:
- Increased costs, scope, and role of government
- Generate new problems
- Complex issues may not be suitable for government intervention
- Can create winners and losers.
Types of Policy
-
Redistributive: Aims to transfer resources from one group to another.
- Examples: Welfare programs such as Medicaid, TANF, SNAP
-
Distributive: Aims to provide government support to specific groups for the benefit of society as a whole.
- Examples: College grants, tax credits for homeowners, subsidized loans for businesses
-
Regulatory: Aims to control and protect common resources through government oversight.
- Examples: Regulations on waste and pollution generated by businesses
Social Welfare Policies
- Government programs aimed at improving the quality of live for those in need.
- Often redistributive and means-tested, requiring beneficiaries to demonstrate low income.
- Examples:
- TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families): Cash benefits for low-income families
- SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program): Food vouchers
- Medicaid: Healthcare coverage for low-income individuals
- SSI (Supplemental Security Income): Financial aid for people with disabilities
- EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit): Tax break or increased tax refund for low-income workers
- Housing Assistance: Reduced monthly rent for qualifying individuals
Evolution of Welfare State
-
AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children): Policy dating back to the 1930s, designed to support poor families.
- Criticized for lacking work requirements and time limits, potentially discouraging employment.
-
TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families): Replaced AFDC in the 1990s under the Clinton administration.
- Largest welfare overhaul, providing block grants to states for greater control over spending.
- Caps federal funding and requires work in exchange for time-limited benefits.
Welfare for the Well-to-Do
-
Middle Class/Corporate Welfare Policies: Financial benefits, often in the form of subsidies or tax cuts, aimed at promoting specific activities or reducing business costs.
- Examples: Tax credits for electric vehicle purchases, drilling rights without royalties, homeowner down payment assistance, college grants.
- Controversies: Subsidies are funded by taxpayers and not everyone agrees on beneficiary criteria. They can also be used to gain political support by "buying off" certain segments of society.
Social Insurance Policies
- Long-term programs providing benefits to a specific population group in exchange for contributions.
- Considered entitlements: Guaranteed benefits to those who have paid into the system.
- Examples:
- Social Security: Provides retirement benefits funded by worker contributions.
- Medicare: Provides healthcare coverage for the elderly.
- Challenges: High costs and potential revenue shortfall from payroll taxes.
Healthcare Policy
- Refers to a country's plans, regulations, and actions aimed at promoting specific health care outcomes.
- In the U.S., most citizens obtain health insurance through employers, leaving low-income individuals and retirees vulnerable to coverage gaps.
- Examples:
- Medicaid (1965): Healthcare for low-income individuals.
- Medicare (1965): Healthcare for the elderly.
- Affordable Care Act (2010): Subsidized healthcare for low-income individuals ineligible for Medicaid.
Controversy over Obamacare
- The U.S. is unique among industrialized nations in lacking a universal healthcare system, guaranteeing basic coverage to all.
- Obamacare aimed to address this by expanding healthcare coverage.
- The individual mandate, requiring individuals to purchase health insurance or face penalties, was the most controversial aspect of Obamacare and was repealed in 2017.
Economic Policy
- Strategies employed by government officials to address economic problems.
- Types:
- Tax Policy: Government's use of taxation for funding collective needs.
- Fiscal Policy: Government's use of taxation and spending to stabilize the economy.
- Monetary Policy: Government's use of interest rate manipulation to control the money supply.
Types of Taxes
-
Progressive taxes: Increased tax burden as income increases.
- Example: U.S. income tax system.
-
Regressive Taxes: Equal tax burden regardless of income.
- This can disproportionately affect lower-income earners who may spend a larger percentage of their income on necessities.
Foreign Policy
- Official U.S. policy addressing issues involving the United States and actors outside its borders.
- Types:
- Crisis Policy: Deals with emergency threats to national interests or values.
- Strategic Policy: Outlines U.S. stance towards other countries or specific issues.
- Structural Defense Policy: Focuses on defense spending, military bases, and related programs.
Key Roles in Foreign Policy
- President: Plays a dominant role in setting the foreign policy agenda due to control over the bureaucracy overseeing diplomatic relations.
- Department of State (DoS): Manages foreign policy and relevant international issues.
- Department of Defense (DoD): Oversees the U.S. armed forces (Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force).
- Department of Homeland Security (DHS): Protects U.S. territory from natural and human threats.
War Powers Resolution (1973)
- Established to limit presidential power to commit troops without congressional consent, particularly after the Vietnam War.
- Key provisions:
- President must obtain a declaration of war or specific authorization from Congress before deploying troops overseas, except in cases of direct attack.
- President-initiated hostilities can last no longer than 60 days without congressional approval.
- Congress can require the president to cease hostilities at any time if no declaration of war or authorization has been passed within 60 days.
Classic Foreign Policy Perspectives
- Isolationism: Emphasizes prioritizing national interests and avoiding involvement in global affairs.
- Liberal Internationalism: Advocates for active engagement in shaping the global environment and intervening to influence events, often for the purpose of safeguarding national security.
Public Policy
- Public policy is a government action designed to solve a public problem.
- Government solutions can be costly, increase the size and scope of government, create new problems, are difficult to implement and can be unfair.
Types of Policy
-
Redistributive Policy aims to redistribute resources from one group in society to another.
- Examples: Welfare programs like Head Start, Medicaid, TANF, SNAP.
-
Distributive Policy provides government support to targeted groups, benefiting the public.
- Examples: College grants, tax credits for homeowners, subsidized loans for businesses.
-
Regulatory Policy controls and protects common resources for public benefit.
- Examples: Regulations on waste and pollutants created by businesses.
Social Welfare Policies
- Social welfare policies are government programs designed to assist those unable or unwilling to provide for themselves.
- These policies are often redistributive and means-tested, meaning beneficiaries must qualify based on low income.
- Examples: TANF, SNAP, Medicaid, SSI, EITC, Housing Assistance.
- The evolution of welfare:
- AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) was heavily criticized for lack of work requirements and time limits, disincentivizing work.
-
TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) replaced AFDC in the 1990s, providing block grants for states to manage welfare spending.
- This system caps federal funding and requires work for limited-time benefits.
Middle-Class / Corporate Welfare Policies
- These policies provide financial benefits (subsidies, tax cuts) to encourage certain activities or reduce business costs.
- Examples: Tax credits for electric vehicles, drilling rights for oil companies, homeowner down payment assistance, college grants.
- These policies are controversial due to taxpayer expense and the selection of beneficiaries.
Social Insurance Policies
- These long-term government programs provide benefits to specific groups in exchange for contributions.
- They are considered entitlements, guaranteeing benefits to contributing members.
- Examples: Social Security, Medicare.
- The main challenge is the expense of these programs as they are not generating enough revenue from payroll taxes.
Healthcare Policy
- Healthcare policy aims to promote specific healthcare practices within a country.
- Many U.S. citizens obtain healthcare through employers, leaving those with low income and retirees often without coverage.
- Medicaid (1965) provides healthcare for low-income individuals.
- Medicare (1965) provides healthcare for the elderly.
- The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) (2010) subsidized healthcare for low-income individuals who did not qualify for Medicaid.
- The Individual Mandate, a key feature of Obamacare requiring individuals to have health insurance or pay a penalty, was repealed in 2017.
Economic Policy
- Economic policy aims to address economic challenges.
- Tax Policy utilizes government authority to collect taxes from individuals and businesses to fund public services.
- Fiscal Policy involves government use of taxation and spending to stabilize the economy.
- Monetary Policy leverages government control of the money supply through interest rate manipulation to influence the economy.
Taxes
-
Progressive Taxes increase as a person's income rises.
- The US has a progressive income tax.
- Regressive Taxes are applied equally to everyone, regardless of income, disproportionately impacting low-income individuals.
Foreign Policy
- Foreign policy is the official U.S. approach to resolving problems occurring between the United States and external actors.
- Crisis Policy addresses urgent threats to national interests or values.
- Strategic Policy outlines the U.S. stance towards a specific country or issue.
- Structural Defense Policy focuses on defense spending and military bases.
- The U.S. maintains approximately 750 foreign military bases in 80 countries.
The President in Foreign Policy
- Presidents hold significant influence over foreign policy, particularly due to control of the foreign policy bureaucracy.
- Department of State manages foreign policy and global affairs concerning the U.S.
- Department of Defense oversees the U.S. Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force).
- Department of Homeland Security protects U.S. territory from natural and man-made threats.
War Powers Resolution
- The Constitution designates the President as Commander in Chief of the armed forces.
- The President can commit troops without a declaration of war, causing conflict with Congress over their authority to commit troops.
- The War Powers Resolution (1973) aimed to limit presidential power to deploy troops without congressional consent.
- It requires informing Congress within 48 hours of troop deployment.
- Military action without a declaration of war or authorization can last 60 days without congressional approval.
- Congress can terminate U.S. involvement in hostilities at any time.
Perspectives on U.S. Foreign Policy
- Isolationism prioritizes national interests and avoids foreign interventions.
- Liberal Internationalism advocates active engagement in shaping the global environment and willingness to intervene in world events.
Public Policy
- A course of action involving government action to address public problems.
- Potential drawbacks of government solutions:
- Cost
- Increased government size and scope
- Potential for new problems
- Complexity of issues
- Favoring specific groups at the expense of others
Types of Policy
- Redistributive: Aims to redistribute resources from one group to another (e.g., welfare programs).
- Distributive: Provides government support to specific groups (e.g., college grants, tax credits).
- Regulatory: Controls and protects common resources (e.g., pollution regulations).
Social Welfare Policies:
- Government programs for individuals who cannot or will not support themselves.
- Often redistributive and means-tested, requiring beneficiaries to demonstrate low income.
- Examples:
- TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families): Cash benefits for low-income families.
- SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program): Food vouchers.
- Medicaid: Health insurance for low-income individuals.
- SSI (Supplemental Security Income): Financial assistance for individuals with disabilities.
- EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit): Tax break or increased tax refund for low-income earners.
- Housing Assistance: Reduced monthly rent payments.
- Evolution of welfare:
- AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children): Replaced by TANF in the 1990s due to criticism for lack of work requirements and time limits.
- TANF: Block grants to states providing greater control over welfare spending, work requirements, and time-limited benefits.
Welfare for the Well-to-do:
- Financial benefits (subsidies or tax cuts) provided to middle-class and corporations to incentivize specific activities or reduce business costs.
- Examples:
- Tax credits for electric vehicle purchases.
- Oil company drilling on federal land without paying royalties.
- Down payment assistance for homeowners.
- Interest rate deductions on federal income taxes.
- College grants for students.
- Controversial due to being funded by taxpayers and potential for unfair beneficiary selection.
Social Insurance Policies:
- Long-term programs providing benefits to specific groups (e.g., retirees, the elderly) in exchange for contributions.
- Considered "entitlement" programs, guaranteeing benefits to those who paid into the system.
- Challenges include high costs and potential for insufficient revenue from payroll taxes.
- Examples:
- Social Security: Retirement benefits funded by worker contributions.
- Medicare: Health insurance for the elderly.
Healthcare Policy:
- Defines a country's health-related decisions, plans, and actions.
- In the US, most people have employer-provided healthcare, leaving low-income and retired individuals with limited coverage.
- Key Programs:
- Medicaid (1965): Healthcare for low-income individuals.
- Medicare (1965): Healthcare for the elderly.
- Affordable Care Act (Obamacare, 2010): Subsidized healthcare for low-income individuals ineligible for Medicaid.
- Controversy over "Obamacare":
- The US lacks a universal healthcare system guaranteeing basic healthcare to all.
- Obamacare aimed to expand coverage.
- The "individual mandate" requiring individuals to have coverage or pay a penalty was repealed in 2017.
Economic Policy:
- Government strategies for addressing economic issues.
- Key Types:
- Tax Policy: Government's use of taxation to contribute to collective costs.
- Fiscal Policy: Government's use of taxation and spending to stabilize the economy.
- Monetary Policy: Government's use of interest rate manipulation to control the money supply.
Economic Policy: Types of Taxes
-
Progressive: Taxes increasing with higher income.
- Example: US income tax
- Regressive: Taxes applied equally regardless of income.
Foreign Policy:
- US policy addressing international issues.
- Types:
- Crisis Policy: Addresses emergency threats to national interests.
- Strategic Policy: Defines the US stance towards other countries or problems.
- Structural Defense Policy: Focuses on defense spending and military bases (e.g., 750 US military bases in 80 countries).
Foreign Policy: Key Actors
- President sets the foreign policy agenda due to control over the diplomatic bureaucracy.
- Key agencies:
- Department of State: Oversees foreign policy and international issues.
- Department of Defense: Oversees the US military (Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force).
- Department of Homeland Security: Protects US territory from natural and human threats.
Foreign Policy: Presidential Power
- President is the "Commander in Chief" of the armed forces.
- Can commit troops without a formal declaration of war.
- This power has been a point of contention with Congress.
- War Powers Resolution (1973): Limits the President's ability to commit troops without Congressional consent (see pg. 586).
Foreign Policy: Perspectives
- Isolationism: Prioritizing US interests and avoiding involvement in global affairs.
- Liberal Internationalism: Engaging in global shaping and interventions to maintain US security.
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Description
Explore the fundamental concepts of public policy, including its purpose and potential downsides. Understand the types of policies, such as redistributive, distributive, and regulatory, along with examples of social welfare programs aimed at enhancing the quality of life for those in need.
