120 likes | 126 Vues
Chapter 13. Domestic and Economic Policy. The Policy Making Process. agenda building -- identifying a problem and getting it on the agenda policy formulation – the debate that occurs between government officials, and between the public in the media, and in campaigns
E N D
Chapter 13 Domestic and Economic Policy
The Policy Making Process agenda building -- identifying a problem and getting it on the agenda policy formulation – the debate that occurs between government officials, and between the public in the media, and in campaigns policy adoption – the selection of a strategy for addressing a problem policy implementation – the administration of the selected policy (by bureaucrats, the courts, etc.) policy evaluation – when the public, officials and groups determine if the selected policy has the desired impact
Major Government Assistance Programs • Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) –replaced AFDC in 1996, this program uses federal funds which are administered by the states to help needy families. • Supplemental Security Income (SSI) – provides a minimum income to the elderly and disabled who do not qualify for Social Security benefits. • Food Stamps – these coupons that can be used to purchase food are now distributed to more than 28 million Americans with little or no income • Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) – a tax credit used by low income workers who get back part or all pf the their Social Security taxes
Economic Policy Making Fiscal Policy – the use of changes in government spending or taxation to change national economic variables, like the unemployment rate - Keynesian Economic Theory posits that using fiscal policy can alter economic variables (increasing government spending during economic turn downturns, for example) Monetary Policy – the use of changes in the money supply to change credit markets, unemployment and the inflation rate - Monetary policy is determined by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), part of the Federal Reserve System
Budget Deficits and the Public Debt ~ the deficit is when the government spends more money than it receives in any given year ~ the public debt is the total amount of debt carried by the federal government, also called the national debt
Hot Links to Selected Internet Resources: • Book’s Companion Site: http://politicalscience.wadsworth.com/schmidtbrief2004 • Wadsworth’s Political Science Site: http://politicalscience.wadsworth.com • Project Vote Smart: http://www.vote-smart.org/ • U.S. Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov • Social Security Online: http://www.ssa.gov • Office of Management and Budget: http://www.access.gpo.gov/usbudget