Chapter 18 Social Welfare Policymaking

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About two-thirds of Americans recently reported that they agreed that

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“success in life is pretty much determined by forces outside our control.”

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Free

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Free

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Americans believe strongly that people should

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take personal responsibility for themselves

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Examples of Social Welfare policies include

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entitlements and means-tested programs.

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Policies that attempt to provide assistance and support to specific groups in society are called

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social welfare policies.

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Federal spending on social programs is substantially higher than

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spending on the military and homeland security.

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Programs to assist the poor have always been

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controversial.

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The government spends more on

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the non poor; than on the poor.

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The median American household income is approximately

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$46,000.

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Government benefits provided regardless of financial need are called

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entitlements.

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An entitlement program is one which

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provides benefits regardless of financial need.

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The distribution of income across segments of the American population is

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highly uneven.

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During the 1960s and 1970s, the income distribution in the United States remained

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much the same, which is fairly unequal.

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During the 1980s and 1990s, income distribution in the United States grew more

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unequal.

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Wealth is the amount of money owned, including

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stocks, bonds, bank accounts, cars, houses, and so forth

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Wealth is distributed less equally than

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income.

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The top one percent of wealth-holders currently possess about

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one-third of all American wealth.

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In the United States, wealth is more unequally distributed than

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income.

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The distribution of income in the United States is quite

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uneven.

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Statistics show that the distribution of income among American households was most

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unequal in 1990.

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The amount of money collected between tow points of time is called

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income.

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Know the following statements about wealth in the United States:

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a. The wealth of the richest one percent exceeds the wealth of the bottom 90 percent.
b. There are now over two million millionaires in the world, most n the United States.
c. The top one percent of the wealth-holders currently possesses about three percent of all American wealth.

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Many of the poor are losing ground to

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the higher-income groups in absolute terms.

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The share of national income earned by various groups in the United States is described by

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the concept of income distribution.

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The poverty line is measured by taking into account what a family would need to spend to maintain an

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“austere” standard of living.

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The United States Bureau of Census’ definition of the poverty line takes into account what a family would need to

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spend for an austere standard of living and the sized of the family.

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To count the poor, the United States Bureau of the Census has established the poverty line which takes into account

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what a family would need to maintain an “austere” standard of living.

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Officially, approximately 12 percent of Americans lived below the poverty line in

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2005 (although many more could have fallen into it for short periods).

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One study of American families found that

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nearly one-half were below the poverty line at least once during their lifetimes.

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Compared to the general population, poverty is more common among all of the following:

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d. Asian Americans
e. African Americans and Hispanics
f. Children
g. Inner city residents

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Officially poverty counts tend to underestimate poverty because

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some families go in and out of poverty without being counted.

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The poverty rate is highest among

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African Americans.

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A progressive tax takes a higher percentage from

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the incomes of the rich than the poor.

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The feminization of poverty refers to

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the increased concentration of poverty among women

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Poverty among the elderly declined over the past several decades primarily due to

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Social Security payments.

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A proportional tax requires

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the same share from everyone, rich and poor alike.

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A regressive tax takes a higher percentage from those with

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lower incomes, and less from the wealthy.

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The federal income tax is an example of

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a progressive tax.

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The best evidence indicates that the overall incidence of taxes-local, state, and federal-in America is

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proportional.

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The overall incidence of taxes in America is proportional because

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generally regressive state and local taxes are counterbalanced by progressive federal taxes.

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Government’s main tools for influencing the distribution of income and wealth are

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income taxation and expenditure policies.

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If the government takes a bigger bite from the income of a rich family than from the income of a poor family, then

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the tax system is progressive.

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If one person earns twice as much as another, but each pays 15 percent of their income in taxes, then the tax system is

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proportional.

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If a poor family pays 50 percent of its income in taxes and a rich one 5 percent, then the tax system is

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regressive.

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The poor are disadvantaged by

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regressive taxation, which occurs in states with a sales tax.

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The tax that can be used to redistribute income from the rich to the poor is

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a progressive tax.

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A tax that can make the rich richer and the poor poorer is

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a regressive tax.

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The best evidence indicates that the overall incidence of taxes in America is

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proportional.

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The biggest chunk of transfer payments goes to

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the elderly and other recipients of social security.

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Food Stamps, low-interest student loans, and Temporary Aid to Needy Families are all examples of

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transfer payments.

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A transfer payment is one which

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provides money from the government’s general treasury to those in specific need.

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Know the following that are means-tested programs:

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h.Aid to Families with Dependent Children
i. Medicaid
j. Food Stamps

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Social Security is an example of

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an entitlement.

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Transfer payments consist of

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cash and in-kind benefits from the government.

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Transfer payments have raised

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many of the poor above the poverty line.

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Social Security and Medicare are the largest and most expensive

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social welfare programs in America.

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Medicare receives

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the most funding.

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Medicaid provides medical and hospital aid to the poor on the basis of

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need through federally assisted state health programs.

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According to Martin Gilens, whites’ attitudes toward welfare are strongly influenced by

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whether they viewed certain groups as lazy or not.

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The feminization of poverty refers to

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the high incidence of poverty among unmarried mothers and their children

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Means-tested public assistance programs were strengthened as a result of

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Lyndon Johnson’s “War on Poverty.”

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The Social Security Act, passed by congress in 1935, dramatically brought the government into

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the equation of one generation’s obligations to another.

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Social Security was begun in the United States during

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the New Deal.

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The Social Security Act of 1935 brought government into

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the equation of the obligations of one generation to another.

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The “War on Poverty” was the set of social welfare policy initiatives begun by

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President Lyndon Johnson.

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The “War on Poverty” programs were later attacked and had their funding reduced substantially by

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President Ronald Reagan.

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Ronald Reagan did not accept or expand many of the programs initiated under

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Johnson’s “War on Poverty?”

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President Ronald Reagan severely reduced many of the

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“War on Poverty” programs.

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Charles Murray’s evaluation of the Great Society programs concluded

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they did not curb the spread of poverty, and actually increased the number of the nation’s poor.

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Charles Murray’s study of the programs of the Great Society concluded all of the following:

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k. Public policies discouraged the poor from solving their own problems.
l. The programs actually made it profitable to be poor and victimized.
m. Many of the programs actually increased poverty in the U.S.
n. Many of the programs not only failed to halt the spread of poverty, they actually made matters worse.

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A major study by Charles Murray argues that

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not only did the social programs of the Great Society fail to curb the advance of poverty; they actually made the situation worse.

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According to Charles Murray, the problem with social welfare policies is that

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they discouraged the poor from solving their own problems.

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Criticisms of the current welfare system include each of the following:

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o. They discourage recipients from getting married or even living together.
p. They discourage the poor from solving their problems.
q. They discourage poor people from saving money.
r. They make it profitable to be poor and victimized.

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Martin Gilens research suggested that Americans’ opposition to welfare was based on

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negative attitudes toward blacks.

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Each of the following were provisions of the 1996 welfare reform bill:

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s. Each state would receive a fixed amount of money to run its own welfare programs.
t. A lifetime maximum of five years on welfare was set.
u. People on welfare would have to find work within two years or lose all their benefits.

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Nationally, over the past six decades, there has been a particularly strong redistribution of

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government benefits in favor of the elderly.

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Compared to other industrialized countries, the United States does worse in providing

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a safety net for all its citizens and in lifting a greater percentage of the poor above the poverty line with various programs.

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The United States differs from other industrial countries in regard to social welfare in all of the following ways:

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v. The universal provision of daycare to toddlers is not paid for by the American government.
w. Americans tend to see poverty and social welfare needs as individual rather than government concerns.
x. The United States does not have a comprehensive family leave policy.
y. Europeans tend to see government in a more positive light, while Americans tend to distrust government action.

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Compared to most Western democracies, the United States provides relatively few

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social welfare benefits.

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Europeans tend to have a more positive attitude toward

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government than Americans.