Domestic Policy• Domestic policies are government programs intended to

enhance the quality of life and lead to a more secure, satisfying, and productive life.

• They are meant to benefit all segments of society, but they often focus on the less fortunate members who find it more difficult to provide for themselves and their families.

Examples:• Protection from poverty and hunger• Enable transportation and other services• Improve its’ citizens health and physical well-being• Maintain a healthy and livable environment• Maintain safety in society

Domestic Policy

You can opt out. This means you will get a thorough pat down. Pilots have been especially concerned about excessive exposure to radiation.

Social Welfare

• Social welfare programs were almost non-existent in the early history of the country. People did not want or expect the national government to provide for people’s welfare.

• Exception- to provide limited assistance for public education

• Exception-to provide for veterans of American wars.

• Americans relied heavily on private charity to help the neediest.

Social Welfare• This began to change in the late 1800’s

• Farmers and rural Americans sought government help to protect them against falling commodity (corn, wheat) prices.

• Americans were upset with the unfair rates set by the railroad companies. They had a monopoly.

• Americans were upset at the enormous power the corporations wielded and felt they often exploited the people.

• The country experienced a strong recession in the mid 1890’s which made many begin to reassess their attitude about the government’s responsibility to protect Americans from calamity.

Social Welfare

• The Great Depression of the 1930’s reinforced this trend notion that hard work alone would not provide economic security for everyone.

• The Great Depression also showed for many that state governments and private charities lacked adequate resources to alleviate severe economic downturns and extreme hardships for American citizens.

Social Welfare• In 1935, Congress passed the Social Security Act.

• This established old-age insurance (Social Security)

• It allowed those who had paid at least a minimum into the system a portion (up to a maximum amount) of their income after retirement.

• The age at which one could begin to receive benefits was originally 65, but has been slowly going up.

• It is financed by a flat rate tax (7.65 %) on earned income (up to a certain level) that was funded equally by employer and employee contributions.

Social Welfare

• It also provided unemployment insurance.

• It covers employers of four or more people but not part time or occasional workers.

• Benefits are paid to unemployed workers who have neither been fired for personal faults nor quit their jobs and who are willing and able to accept suitable employment.

• Employers also pay into a separate fund to pay for the unemployment provisions of Social Security.

Social Welfare• Explained below are some of the other social welfare programs

the national government created over time and offers today. Including Social Security, these programs are also called Entitlement programs.

• The term Income security programs refer to those programs which protect people against loss of income because of retirement, disability, unemployment, or death or absence of the family breadwinner.• Social Security and Unemployment insurance are examples.

• These are Non-means-based programs are programs such as Social Security, in which benefits are provided irrespective of the income or means of recipients.

Social Welfare• Means-tested programs are income security programs to assist

those whose incomes fall below a designated level.

• Supplemental Security Income (SSI)-provides income assistance to needy people who are permanently and totally disabled. Separate from Social Security.

• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)-Income security program for the poor with Children. Drug felons and illegal immigrants are not eligible for benefits. There is also a time limit on how long benefits can be received. States given block grants (benefits from 3 to 5 years typically)

• Food Stamps-These are government issued vouchers that can be redeemed at retailers for certain categories of groceries. Now called SNAP. $30 to $80 per month.

Social Welfare

• Earned Income Tax Credit Program-designed to help the working poor by subsidizing their wages, and it also provides an incentive for people to go to work.

• Also called EITC, it is a program supported by Democrats and Republicans and results in a net cash rebate for many low income taxpayers who pay no federal income tax.

• Rebate occurs when you file your income tax returns.• It may be worth between $50 to around $600.

Social Welfare

• National health insurance (Where everyone is covered) was considered during the 1930’s but the American Medical Association fought it and it never made it into the Social Security Act of 1935. Today, however, expanded government health insurance does exist and no one can be denied health insurance because of preconditions….as of 2008.

• Medicare: Federal program established as part of Johnson’s Great Society. Provides medical care for the elderly.

• Medicaid: An expansion of Medicare; this program subsidizes medical care for the poor. Funded by states and federal government.

Social Welfare• The government also provides what is called Public Health.

• It tries to control the growth of both infectious and chronic diseases.

• Public health officials use vaccines to manage the spread of diseases such as influenza (the flu).

• While not requiring citizens to receive flu shots, the government recommends that high-risk groups (infants and senior citizens) receive immunizations and also subsidizes vaccines for low-income populations.

Energy Policy

• The U.S. first paid serious attention to developing energy policy in the early 1970’s after dramatic price increases in imported oil, upon which the country had grown dependent.

• The Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) standards began in 1975 as a means to improve gas mileage for automobiles in the U.S.

• Under CAFE, automakers are required to meet average fuel efficiency standards for the fleet of cars that they sell in the U.S……miles per gallon standards.

• A new cabinet department, the Department of Energy, was created in 1977 to oversee energy policy.

Energy Policy

• Congress established the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in 1975 as part of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act.

• The Strategic Petroleum Reserve holds about two months of inventory that can be accessed under a presidential order.

Environmental Policy• As America was being forced to confront energy as a national

concern in the 1970’s, the issue of the environment was also moving into a prominent role in the national discourse.

• Americans’ growing concerns about environmental conditions led to the first Earth Day in 1970, when millions of the nation’s citizenry took part in marches and rallies demanding greater government action to protect the environment.

• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was created by executive order in 1970.

• The Clean Air Act of 1970 is the law that established the primary standards for air quality in the U.S. It was revised in 1990. The states have taken the lead to implement auto emissions testing.

Environmental Policy• Momentum on environmental issues slowed considerably in

the 1980’s with the Reagan administration, although concerns over global warming and another round of steep oil prices have recently brought the issue to prominence again.

• The Obama administration has vowed to take significant action regarding both energy and environmental issues, which because of greenhouse gases and global warming are increasingly considered tandem problems.

How do Republicans and Democrats often differ with respect to Environmental Policy?