Social and Domestic Policy

1. Social and Domestic Policy • Public Assistance • Education • Housing Business Consumer Protection Labor Agriculture Environment

2. Business Promoting and Protecting Business • Tariffs and quotas protect American industries • In recent years federal gov’t has promoted free trade more • NAFTA - promotion of free trade between Canada, Mexico & US • Federal Subsidies • Tax deductions, low interest rate loans, direct cash payments • Small Business Administration (SBA)– agencyaids development, funding of small business Regulation • Gov’t took Laissez-faire approach until Progressivism • Eventually gov’t plays bigger role in economy • anti-trust laws etc.

3. Consumer Protection Product of the Progressive Era - establishment of agencies and laws designed to protect consumers from bad business practices Pure Food & Drug Act Meat Inspection Act Food & Drug Administration (FDA) – contaminated or mislabeled food or drugs Federal Trade Commission (FTC) - false ads, sales fraud Consumer Product Safety Commission - protection from faulty products Security & Exchange Commission (SEC) - protection, insurance for our money, stocks

4. Labor Laws set minimum wages, maximum hours and prohibit child labor. Department of Labor – employment offices, job training programs, unemployment insurance Time where unions had most support was during the Great Depression National Labor Relations Board - protects workers and makes employers have to negotiate with unions, not penalize workers for being in union Gov’thas continued to regulate union activity as needed

5. Talk to your neighbor: How does the Federal gov’t 1)promote and regulate business? 2) protect consumers? 3) support and regulate labor?

6. Agriculture & Environment Agriculture • Department of Agriculture - workswith farmers to modernize agricultural methods, promotes agricultural trade, end hunger in the U.S. and abroad • During the Great Depression gov’t paid farmers to produce less and provided loans to farmers Environment • EPA(Environmental Protection Agency) - regulations over business • 1990 Clean Air Act – mandated reductions in emissions • Kyoto Protocol - international agreement to improve emissions, ratified by Congress, but not enforced by Pres G. W.Bush • Water Pollution Policies – regulates discharge of harmful materials into the water • Unfunded mandates - halts some fed gov’t regulations

8. Public Assistance New Deal programs - fed gov takes on responsibility of social welfare Social Security - employer and employees contribute, claim benefits once eligible Medicare- pays share of hospital expenses for senior citizens with optional policy for dr visits, prescriptions, etc. Unemployment Insurance - federal and state gov offer aid to those who are out of work, eligible if dismissed from job Food Stamps - helps to get food for low-income families Medicaid- medical bill assistance for low-income people The need for reform

9. Education& Housing Public Education • Guidelines established by state, schools run by local school districts • Fed gov does grant billions in aid to public schools (K-12 and college) • Some states do not want the aid because they do not want fed intervention in education • Federal programs (ie NCLB) designed to improve student test performance and overall status of U.S.education in the world, ties fundingto test scores Housing • Laws passed to help Americans purchase and keep homes • Federal Housing Administration (FHA) - guarantees banks/lenders against losses on loans to low income families • Urban renewal - focused on rebuilding, cleaning up cities • Public Housing - aid to local cities to provide low-income housing

10. Talk to your neighbor: How does the federal gov’t 1) promote agriculture and environmental protection? 2) assist the public? 3) regulate housing and education?