Social Welfare

Chapter 17

Majoritarian Politics

• Nearly everyone benefits, and nearly everyone pays

• The opinion of majoritarian politics never really changes because it would be too risky– Ex.: social security and Medicare

• No means test- this means the benefits are available to everyone

Client-Centered Politics

• Few people benefit, yet everyone pays• Changes with popular opinion

– AFDC- aid to families with dependent children• Very popular in 1935 after the war because people had

sympathy for widowed mothers• 30 years later, it appear women were taking advantage of the

program, and the people no longer supported it

– Ex.: Medicaid and Food stamps• Means test- you must fall below a certain income level to

qualify for benefits

Social Welfare

• 3 things shaped social welfare policy– Americans have a restricted view on who

deserves to benefit– America has been slower than others to

embrace the welfare state– We insist states need to play a great role in

running welfare programs

Social welfare cont’d.

• Americans base welfare on giving “help to the deserving poor”, not based on everyone getting their fair share

• America passes social security act in 1985, after 22 nations already had it

• It was not clear until the 1930’s that the U.S government could do anything with the social policy

Social Security

• Insurance for the unemployed and elderly– insurance program- created for the unemployed

and the elderly• Everybody would be taxed and all would be eligible

for insurance– Assistance program- created for the blind,

dependent children, and aged• Only poor ( by the means test) are considered for

assistance

Medicare• It is very controversial as to which programs

would be covered• A majority of the Ways and Means committee

opposed national health care programs• By early ’60’s, most favored it and with heavy

democratic support began to draft a Medicare plan– It was only for the elderly– It didn’t cover doctor visits– Included Medicaid for the poor

Problems with Medicare• Main problem: as the population ages, there

are not enough people to pay taxes• 3 ways to solve this problem:

– Raise retirement age, freeze benefits and raise social security taxes

– Privatize social security or invest in stock market

– Use 1st and 2nd options, but permit citizens to invest in mutual funds

Problems with Medicare Cont’d.

• The program costs a lot of $, but it is not very efficient

• The fund will eventually run out of money• People take advantage of program with

unnecessary doctor visits, and doctors overcharge• This problem can be solved by:

– Having doctors work for the government– Let elderly take their share of Medicare money and

invest it in private health insurance companies

Problems with Medicare Cont’d.

• As of now, health care in our country is not a top priority; terrorism is #1

• Politicians will continue to propose new health care legislation as our current system struggles to produce success

Client Welfare Programs

• AFDC was created because of the depression to help widowed and single women

• It allowed states to define need and administer the program

• There were many government restrictions:– States were told how to calculate income– To give Medicaid to AFDC recipients– Set a job-training program

Client Welfare Cont’d.

• Programs– Food stamps– Free school lunch– Housing assistance– Earned income tax credit– Cash grants were given to poor, working

parents

Problems

• The program irritated everyone • There were too many rules• The benefits were going up and people were

taking advantage of it• Most women were never married, or divorced and

they were just using the $• 2/3 of the women on the program at any given

time had been on it for 8 years or more• In 1996, the program was abolished

Majoritarian Politics

• Both cost and benefit were widely distributed• It will most likely be adopted if the benefits

exceeds the cost• Big debate whether it was legitimate for the

federal government to provide these services• Nothing in the constitution authorized such

programs• Argument that medical care was private• Liberals swept the house, and the programs passed

Client Politics

• Not a large cost, benefits a small group• Most people believed able-bodied people should

work for their benefits• People’s opinion of deserving welfare recipients

has continually lessened• TANF (temporary assistance for needy families)

– People received job training and education (service strategy)

• Preferred over income strategy (giving ppl. $)