American Government and Politics Today

1. American Government and Politics Today Chapter 14 Domestic and Economic Policy

2. The Policy-Making Process Agenda building Policy formulation Policy adoption Policy implementation Policy evaluation

3. 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 The uninsured

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 (through government action) The low-income population Thresholds and measurement techniques The antipoverty budget

8. Poverty and Welfare (continued) Basic welfare Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) Welfare controversies Other forms of government assistance Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Earned-Income Tax Credit (EITC) Homelessness as an ongoing problem

10. Immigration The continued influx of immigrants More than a million people a year immigrate legally to this country Increased importance of minority groups Advantages of high rates of immigration Attempts at immigration reform Protests of May 2006

11. Crime in the 21st Century Crime in American history Violent crime, homicide, and theft are currently on the decline, though they will always be serious concerns Crimes committed by juveniles The cost of crime to U.S. society One study�s estimate: $1 trillion per year

12. Violent crime rates have declined since 1994

13. Homicide rates have also declined

14. Rates of theft have declined significantly since the 1970s

16. Crime in the 21st Century (continued) The prison population bomb The U.S. incarceration rate International comparisons Prison construction Effects of incarceration Federal drug policy Confronting terrorism

18. Incarceration Rates by Population Group

19. Environmental Policy Cleaning up the air and water The National Environmental Policy Act The Clean Air Act of 1990 The Clean Water Act of 1972 Global warming The Kyoto Protocol The global warming debate

20. The Politics of Economic Decision Making Fiscal policy Keynesian economics supports government taxing and spending to stabilize the economy Government spending and borrowing Discretionary fiscal policy Deficit spending and public debt The public debt in perspective Are we always in debt?

21. Net Public Debt of the Federal Government

23. The Politics of Economic Decision Making (continued) Monetary policy Organization of the Federal Reserve System The Federal Open Market Committee Loose and tight monetary policy Time lags for monetary policy Shorter for monetary policy than for fiscal policy

24. The Politics of Taxes Federal income tax rates Not all income is taxed at the same rate The highest rate is imposed on the �last� dollar of income Loopholes and lowered taxes Progressive and regressive taxation Who pays?

25. Currently Americans pay taxes that total somewhat less than 30 percent of the GDP

26. The Social Security Problem Social Security is not a pension fund Rather, it is a pay-as-you-go transfer system Workers per retiree What will it take to salvage the Social Security System? Raise taxes Other options

27. The number of workers per retiree has fallen precipitously

28. World Trade Economists of all stripes support international trade, but public opinion often differs Imports and exports Dramatic growth in global trade Free trade areas and common markets NAFTA, the European Union The World Trade Organization

30. Questions for Critical Thinking Presuming that national health insurance is off the table in the United States, what else could be done to protect the uninsured population from catastrophic medical costs? Prison populations continue to explode. What can be done?

31. Questions for Critical Thinking 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? Is progressive taxation fair? Support your argument that this form of taxation is either fair or unfair.

32. Questions for Critical Thinking Which of the proposals to �fix� Social Security have the most merit? Which do you think would cause the most problems? Why are the public and the economics profession on such different wavelengths when it comes to world trade?