POLS 34102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, No Child Left Behind Act, Tax Expenditure
29 Jun 2018
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CH 17 OUTLINE
The Welfare State
1. Prior to 1935, the welfare system in America was composed of private groups rather than
government. State governments gradually assumed some of the obligation to aid the poor.
2. The founding of the welfare state can be dated to the Social Security Act of 1935; this act
provided for both contributory and noncontributory welfare programs.
3. Contributory programs—such as Social Security and Medicare, and unemployment insurance—
are financed by taxation or other mandatory contributions by their present or future recipients.
4. Noncontributory programs—such Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), Medicaid,
and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—provide assistance to people based
on demonstrated need rather than on any contribution they may have made.
5. Goldberg v. Kelly created the concept of an entitlement by holding that the financial benefits
of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) could not be revoked without due process.
6. The 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) created
major changes in welfare benefits and gave states more discretion in how benefits would be
allocated. Since the passage of these reforms, the orientation of government assistance has
shifted away from subsidizing people who are not in the labor force and toward addressing
temporary problems that low-income people face and providing assistance that helps them find
work.
7. Spending on social policies, especially Social Security and Medicare, has increased dramatically
in recent decades.
8. Although much of the public debate has focused on the costs of Social Security as the baby-
boom generation ages and individuals live longer, most experts agree that Medicare and Medicaid
pose the biggest budget challenge due to the rapidly rising costs of health care. Reforms have
been proposed, but in the current charged political context, nothing has been enacted.
Opening Opportunity
1. Education, health, and housing policies are three significant ways to break the cycle of poverty
and open up opportunities.
2. The education policies of state and local governments are the most important single force in
the distribution and redistribution of opportunity in America. The No Child Left Behind Act, which
President George W. Bush introduced and President Obama overhauled, greatly increased the
federal role in education. The 2015 "Every Student Succeeds" law, however, returned some power
back to the states on crucial issues.
3. In addition in important public-health campaigns, government now plays a significant role in
providing for individual health via programs like Medicaid.
4. The Democrats passed comprehensive health care reform in 2010 in the form of the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act, but the issue of health care reform remained at the forefront
of public debate and election campaigns.
5. Problems with the rollout of the state insurance exchanges in fall 2013 further damaged public
perception of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Even though the Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that
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Document Summary
The welfare state: prior to 1935, the welfare system in america was composed of private groups rather than government. Reforms have been proposed, but in the current charged political context, nothing has been enacted. President george w. bush introduced and president obama overhauled, greatly increased the federal role in education. The 2015 "every student succeeds" law, however, returned some power back to the states on crucial issues. In addition in important public-health campaigns, government now plays a significant role in providing for individual health via programs like medicaid: the democrats passed comprehensive health care reform in 2010 in the form of the patient. Who gets what from social policy: the two categories of social policy contributory and noncontributory generally serve different groups of people. The unpopularity of such programs has prompted efforts to decrease spending in recent years: minorities, women (particularly single mothers), and children are disproportionately poor.
