Poverty+and+Welfare

- The worksheet is due tomorrow, and we can still make changes to the page throughout the day (absolute due date at beginning of class tomorrow) Matt, I'm not going to be in class today because I'll be on a field trip. I added all of my sources and did the policymaking process, so the only thing left is the worksheet and your sources (and do you know how to make the text all one font & size?). I'm not sure the worksheet is actually due today because it's only for the presentation.


 * History **
 * Welfare programs in the U.S. have been around in various forms for nearly the entire history of the country.
 * Early programs were adapted versions of the British Poor Laws, which gave cash or alternative forms of help to the unemployed who were unable to work because of their physical condition. Those who were able-bodied but unemployed could sometimes get jobs in public service.
 * Later, pensions were given to Civil War veterans and their families.
 * The welfare program as we know it has its roots with President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the Great Depression. In 1935, the Social Security Act was passed under his supervision.
 * Unemployment compensation and Aid to Dependent Children programs still exist today


 * In the 1960's, President Lyndon Johnson included many welfare reforms and additions in his "Great Society" policy initiatives.
 * President Reagan cut government spending by targeting poverty programs in the 1980's.
 * In 1996, President Clinton reformed welfare by signing the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act
 * In 2006, more than 36.5 million people in the U.S. lived below the poverty line, according to the Census Bureau.

Welfare in the U.S. is handled primarily by:
 * Department of Health and Human Services
 * Department of Housing and Urban Development
 * Department of Labor,
 * Department of Agriculture,
 * Department of Education



**Judicial Policy Making Action**

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In the early days of the New Deal program, the Supreme Court ruled several programs including the Social Security Act unconstitutional because they went beyond the powers delegated to the federal government by the Constitution. A struggle between the executive, judicial, and legislative branch ensued, culminating in the Judicial Reorganization Bill of 1937. However, two judges finally conceded and supported New Deal legislation, preventing a “court packing” measure which would have weakened the Supreme Court. =====

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 · Saenz v. Roe (1999) – the court asserted that the welfare rights of citizens of one state must be respected in others =====

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 · Department of Agriculture v. Moreno (1972) – unrelated persons living in the same household are still eligible for benefits from the Food Stamp Act =====

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 · Graham v. Richardson (1971) – state welfare laws that place conditions on welfare benefits due to citizenship and imposed durational residency requirements on aliens violate Equal Protection Clause =====

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 · Goldberg v. Kelly (1970) – the 14th amendment’s Due Process clause requires a full evidentiary hearing before recipients of government benefits can be deprived of such benefits =====
 * The court system is also responsible for handling appeals of individuals who have lost welfare benefits.

The executive role is to coordinate and push legislation through Congress and sign it into law. At times, the President also has to coerce the judicial branch to allow legislation. Congress in responsible for passing all legislation which creates welfare programs and creates the agencies which administer them. The legislative branch also creates "Article I courts" which handle some aspects of welfare appeals and requests.
 * Executive Policy Making Actions**
 * FDR invested a lot of political capital to force through the original welfare reform included in New Deal legislation.
 * President Lyndon B. Johnson established many more programs for those in the lowest socioeconomic classes in policy initiatives of the “Great Society” program.
 * Clinton’s presidency included a welfare reform bill which was supported by congressional Republicans but opposed by half of congressional Democrats. The bill, passed in 1996, focuses on placing recipients into jobs rather than continuing dependence on government assistance.
 * President George W. Bush pushed marriage as a solution to poverty. The welfare reform legislation permitted states to use some of their money for programs to promote marriage.
 * Legislative Policy Making Actions**
 * Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act
 * Completed in August 1996
 * Received almost unanimous support among congressional Republicans but was opposed by half of congressional Democrats.
 * Major Provisions:
 * each state would receive a fixed amount of money to run its own welfare programs
 * people on welfare would have to find work within 2 years or lose all of their benefits
 * set a lifetime maximum of 5 years on welfare
 * Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)
 * Previously called AFDC
 * Cash payments to poor families
 * Social Securtity Act of 1935
 * included programs such as:
 * grants for unemployment compensation
 * grants for aid to dependent children
 * old-age benefits
 * maternal and child health services
 * later amended to include Medicare and Medicaid, TANF, and health insurance program

As mentioned above, welfare is handled primarily by several federal agencies. The most prominent agency is the Department of Health and Human Services. These agencies are responsible for translating requests from Congress and the President into workable programs. Welfare checks, food stamps, and other forms of government assistance flow through the bureaucracy as a result of input from the executive and legislative branches.
 * The Bureaucracy**


 * The Process**

Step 1 involves the President

Steps 2 & 3 involve the legislature

Steps 2 & 4 involve the bureaucracy

After Step 5, Step 6 would be policy interpretation. This step would involve the judicial branch interpreting the new legislation.

__Charities and Religious Institutions__ UNICEF National Center for Children in Poverty Boys & Girls Club of America Child Welfare League of America National Association of Child Advocates YMCA many church congregations, temples, and other religious groups || as meals, monetary support, and shelter. || __Interest Groups__
 * Role of Non-governmental Groups**
 * Some Non-governmental Groups Associated with Welfare:
 * These groups work independently of the government to provide services such
 * ACORN- "The nation's largest grassroots community organization of low and moderate-income people..."
 * Issue Campaigns:
 * raise the minimum wage or enact living wage policies
 * eliminate predatory financial practices by mortgage lenders, payday lenders, and tax preparation companies
 * win the development of affordable housing and community benefits agreements
 * improve the quality of and funding for urban public schools
 * rebuild New Orleans
 * pass a federal and state ACORN Working Families Agenda, including paid sick leave for all full-time workers
 * Ballot Initiatives
 * ACORN-backed ballot initiative campaigns in 2006 helped raise the minimum wage in Ohio, Arizona, Missouri, and Colorado


 * Impact on American Public**
 * The welfare reform acts of 1996 got millions off of welfare.
 * From the act's signing in 1996 until September 2002, the number of welfare recipients dropped from 12.2 million to 5 million.
 * The welfare reform law mandated that adults must be working in at least 25% of the families receiving welfare aid. If states did not reach this target, they would be fined at the start of 1999.
 * 33% of adults on welfare were working by the end of 2005.
 * Incomes remained low. The average Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipient was making about $686 a month.
 * TANF benefits today are small and declining. The average recipient family collects $363 monthly in benefits.
 * Since we first started measuring poverty, the proportion of the poor has declined a little bit.
 * Since we declared war on poverty, the rich have gotten a larger share of the nation's income, while the poor receive a smaller share.


 * Current Status of Policy Decisions**

__H.R. 2- Raising the Minimum Wage__ This bill increases the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour over two years.

Facts to Consider:
 * Increasing the minimum wage to $7.25 per hour would bring a pay raise for up to 13 million Americans.
 * Raising the minimum wage would provide an additional $4,400/year for a family of three. This is the equivalent of 15 months of groceries or over two years of health care. As costs rise, so must the minimum wage.
 * Millions of Americans work full-time and still live in poverty. With the current minimum wage, a full-time worker earns only $10,712/year- nearly $6,000 below the poverty line for a family of three.
 * America's families have seen their real income drop by almost $1,300 since 2000, while the costs of health insurance, gasoline, home heating, and attending college have increased by almost $5,000 annually. [Government Reform, 9/21/06]
 * The minimum wage has not increased in more than nine years - the longest period in the history of the law. During that time, Members of Congress have received a $31,600 pay raise. The real value of the minimum wage has plummeted to its lowest level in 51 years. [Economic Policy Institute, 6/06]
 * Problems with Current Policy**
 * Dependency
 * The billions that the government has spent to reduce poverty has only made it worse by creating dependency.
 * Welfare programs reward people for being poor, reduce the incentive to work, and undermine the family.
 * Automatic assistance to the poor enables irresponsible behavior.
 * Lack of Standards
 * The government demands nothing in return for their assistance to the poor.
 * The failure to impose requirements on recipients of government support undermines public suport for such assistance.
 * Unemployment
 * Shortage of jobs with livable wages and benefits.
 * Not enough poor people qualify for skilled positions.




 * Possible Changes to Policy[[image:http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/awa/lowres/awan240l.jpg align="right" caption="welfare cartoons, welfare cartoon, welfare picture, welfare pictures, welfare image, welfare images, welfare illustration, welfare illustrations"]]**
 * Eliminate Dependency
 * Phase out benefits for those able to work.
 * Limit benefits such as healthcare and nutrition to children.
 * Encourage communities and other private charities to become more involved in helping the poor.
 * Set Expectations for the Poor
 * Use benefits as incentives for positive accomplishments such as graduating from high school and responsible saving.
 * Use benefits to discourage negative behavior. Benefits should be reduced or taken away if, for example, a family does not send its children to school regularly.
 * Create a Strategy to Increase Employment
 * Make it easier for people to work by doing things like subsidizing public daycare, providing job training, and providing public transportation to and from the workplace.
 * Support higher quality education by providing sufficient funding for all public schools.
 * Expand job training programs so more people qualify for skills-based jobs.
 * Raise the minimum wage so full-time workers do not fall below the poverty line.
 * As a last resort, provide temporary jobs to unemployed workers.

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