American Government and Politics Today

1
American Government and Politics Today

• Chapter 15
• Domestic Policy

2
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 Implementationthe administration of the
  policy adopted
• Policy Evaluation.

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Health Care

• The Rising Cost of Health Care 15 GDP
• Advanced Technology-MRI,CT,PET
• Large Elderly Population-growing
• The Governments Role in Financing Health Care
  45/35/20
• Medicare-2nd largest domestic program
• Govt cut rates of re-imbursement, physicians
  refuse treatment
• The Uninsured 15 - 35 Hispanics
• The Uninsured Employed- most young due to
  Medicare coverage
• Shifting Costs to the Uninsured-Individual plans
  expensive, less bargaining power, bankruptcy
• National Health Insurance-European countries
• The Canadian System-Government controlled
  medicine
• Health Savings Account-Allows premiums promotes
  saving and cost savings by the patient.

4
Percentage of Total National Income Spent on
Health Care in the U.S.
5
Cost of Health Care in Economically Advanced
Nations
6
Life Expectancy in the U.S.
7
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 Definition 19K in
  goods and services
• The Antipoverty Budget-396B 1/6th of Fed
  Expenditures (188B Medicaid w/142B State match)
  Everyone cared for
• Basic Welfare
• Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)
  Additional needs funded by states
• Welfare Controversies-Led to Welfare reform act
• 2 years at a time and 5 year lifetime
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI)- additional
  income for elderly and sickly
• Food stamps-dual subsidy
• Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)-Social security
  tax rebate
• Homelessness-Street People, Sheltered, The
  Numbers, Criminalizing the poor, HUD Efforts.

8
The Official Number of Poor in the U.S.
9
Immigration

• The Continued Influx of Immigrants
• About a million people a year immigrate to this
  country.
• Larger families, more taxpayers, workforce,
  support medicare and social security, strong work
  ethic, often conservative value systems
• Others believe immigrants burden to anti-poverty
  programs.
• Immigration and Americas Security
• Student Visas--Then and Now
• New Security Guidelines
• Loose guidelines/background checks vs. additional
  background checks as well as enrollment checks

10
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
• Rachel Carson Silent Spring Pesticides
• 1969 Oil spill in Santa Barbara
• Cuyahoga River fire in Cleveland
• Ecology-revived old preservationist ideas by
  considering the total pattern of relationships
  between organisms and their environment

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Cleaning Up the Air and Water

• The National Environmental Policy Act 1969
• Formed the Council on Environmental Quality
• Required EISs including public involvement
• Curbing Air Pollution
• The 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act of 1963
  constitute a comprehensive policy mandating
  cleaner air in urban areas. Phased vehicle
  emission reductions. Reductions in stationary
  emissions by 40. Phasing out of CFCs, new
  standards for particulates. Ozone action days
• Water Pollution
• The Clean Water Act 1972 sought to make waters
  safe for swimming, protect fish and wildlife, and
  eliminate the discharge of pollutants into the
  water. Prohibits the filling and dredging of
  wetlands. Supreme court struck down the migratory
  bird-rule habitats for migratory birds not
  navigable waters.

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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.

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Other Environmental Issues

• Regulating Hazardous Waste 1980 Comprehensive
  Environmental Response Compensation, and
  Liability Act (CERCLA) Superfund-Generator,
  transporter, owner then and now.
• The Endangered Species Act (ESA)-Snail
  Darter/TVA/Tellico Dam Spotted owl/Fish and
  Wildlife/ Logging
• Incentives for landowner participation.
• Global Warming
• The UN Kyoto Protocol-exempted developing nations
  from lowering emissions US did not sign
• The Global Warming Debate
• Policy affects you!