American Government and Politics Today

Chapter 15

Domestic Policy

The Policy-Making Process

Agenda Building: identifying a problem and getting it on the agenda.

Policy Formulation: the debate that occurs among government officials and the public in the media, in Congress, and through campaigns.

Policy Adoption: selection of a strategy for addressing the problem from among the solutions discussed.

Policy Implementation: the administration of the policy adopted

Policy Evaluation.

Health Care

The Rising Cost of Health Care Advanced Technology The Government’s Role in

Financing Health Care Medicare Medicaid

Why has Medicaid spending exploded?

Medicaid and the States

Health Care (cont.)

The Uninsured The Uninsured Employed Shifting Costs to the Uninsured

National Health Insurance The Canadian System

Health Savings Account

Life Expectancy in the U.S.

Poverty and Welfare

Income transfers, transfers of income from some individuals in the economy to other individuals. This is generally done by way of the government.

The Low-Income Population The Antipoverty Budget

Poverty and Welfare (cont.)

Basic Welfare Aid to Families with Dependent Children

(AFDC) Temporary Assistance to Needy Families

(TANF) Welfare Controversies Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Homelessness

Immigration

The Continued Influx of Immigrants More than a million people a year immigrate

to this country. Minority Groups will constitute the

“majority” of America by 2060. Some point out the positives of immigration

—offsetting the low birthrate and aging population.

Attempts at Immigration Reform

2006 Congress initiated, but did not pass, sweeping legislation that would make all illegal immigrants in the United States felons.

Questions for Critical Thinking

Presuming that national health insurance is off the table in the United Sates, what else could be done to protect the uninsured population from catastrophic medical costs?

How important is income in children’s achievement? What things can money buy that can help children achieve? What can it not?

Crime in the 21st Century

Crime in American History Crimes Committed by Juveniles The Cost of Crime to American Society

Declining Crime Rates

Declining Homicide Rates

Declining Theft Rates

The United States has the highest incarceration rate among major world nations measured by the number of prisoners per 100,000 residents.

Incarceration Rates by Population Group

Crime in the 21st Century (cont.)

Federal Drug Policy Money spent on federal drug interdiction

programs has not met with much success, as illegal drug consumption in the U.S. has remained steady. State and local governments, however, have been attempting new remedies to curtail the drug problem.

Confronting Terrorism Counter-terrorism strategies will necessarily

be a part of federal government policy for years to come.

Environmental Policy

Environmentalism Conservation was a policy under which

natural resources should be used, but not abused.

Preservation called for natural preserves that are isolated from the effects of human activity.

The Environmentalist Movement Ecology

Cleaning Up the Air and Water

The National Environmental Policy Act Curbing Air Pollution

The 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act of 1963 constitute a comprehensive policy mandating cleaner air in urban areas.

Water Pollution The Clean Water Act sought to make waters

safe for swimming, protect fish and wildlife, and eliminate the discharge of pollutants into the water.

Cost-Effective Solutions

One method of supporting cost-effective solutions was part of the Clean Air Act of 1990. The act capped overall national sulfur dioxide emissions but also permitted free trade in “rights” to emit sulfur dioxide. As a result, the sulfur dioxide emissions are made by the companies that reap the greatest economic advantage from their right to emit.

As a result of legislation, air and water pollution is down dramatically from what it was three or so decades ago. Lead content in the air is 3 percent of what it was. Sulfur dioxide is down by four-fifths.

Other Environmental Issues

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) Global Warming

The Kyoto Protocol The Global Warming Debate

Questions for Critical Thinking

Prison populations continue to explode. What can be done?

Why are environmental problems often difficult to legislate away? What improvements have been made in air and water quality in recent years? What problems still need solutions?