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"Welfare politics" have now been part of American life for four
centuries. Beyond a persistent general idea that Americans have a
collective obligation to provide for the poorest among us, there
has been little common ground on which to forge political and
philosophical consensus. Are poor people poor because of their own
shortcomings and moral failings, or because of systemic societal
and econonomic obstacles? That is, does poverty have individual or
structural causes? This book demonstrates why neither of these two
polemical stances has been able to prevail permanently over the
other and explores the public policy--and real-life--consequences
of the stalemate. Author Greg M. Shaw pays special attention to the
outcome of the 1996 act that was heralded as "ending welfare as we
know it." Historically, people on all sides of the welfare issue
have hated welfare--but for different reasons. Like our forebears,
we have constantly disagreed about where to strike the balance
between meeting the basic needs of the very poor and "creating
dependency," or undermining individual initiative. The shift in
1996 from New Deal welfare entitlement to "workfare" mirrored the
national mood and ascendant political ideology, as had welfare
policy throughout American history. The special contribution of
this book is to show how evolving understandings of four key
issues--markets, motherhood, race, and federalism--have shaped
public perceptions in this contentious debate. A rich historical
narrative is here complemented by a sophisticated analytical
understanding of the forces at work behind attempts to solve the
welfare dilemma. Chapters cover: BLThe Early American Roots of
Welfare BLControlling the Poor in19th-Century America BLFrom
Mothers' Pensions to a Troubled Aid to Dependent Children Program
BLThe Rise and Fall of the Great Society BLThe 1970s and 1980s:
Backlash and an Emerging Conservative Consensus BLThe End of
Welfare Entitlement BLA New World of Welfare How should we evaluate
the current "welfare-to-work" model? Is a precipitous decline in
state welfare caseloads sufficient evidence of success? Success,
this book finds, has many measures, and ending welfare as an
entitlement program has not ended arguments about how best to
protect children from the ravages of poverty or how to address the
plight of the most vulnerable among us. Series features: BLTimeline
anchoring the discussion in time and place BLBibliography of print
and Internet resources guiding further exploration of the subject
BLCharts and tables analyzing complex data, including survey
results
Medicare and Medicaid: A Reference Handbook provides an in-depth
discussion of these two large government health insurance programs.
It additionally addresses such related issues as health care,
government spending, and socialized medicine. Many Americans hold
conflicting views on how to pay for health care. They fear that
government involvement will either undermine the quality of care or
cost taxpayers too much. However, over the past half-century,
hundreds of millions of Americans have come to rely on government
health insurance because they are elderly, low-income, or both.
Medicare and Medicaid: A Reference Handbook provides high school
and college readers with a one-stop resource on these two
government insurance programs. A background and history of the
topic are followed by a chapter on problems, controversies, and
solutions. Perspectives and profiles speak to current program
strengths, political concerns, and problems. There is a strong
focus on current program challenges and opportunities. Moreover,
most of the government documents referenced in a dedicated
resources chapter are produced periodically, with updates
accessible online, so the book should enjoy an enduring shelf-life.
The volume closes with a glossary and bibliography.
With the debate over health care consuming the nation, this timely
book looks at the evolution of healthcare policy in the United
States throughout its history. Concise, authoritative, and
unbiased, The Healthcare Debate provides meaningful context for
thinking about one of the most controversial public policy issues
the United States faces. It traces the evolution of the argument
over the government's role in healthcare financing and delivery
since the early 1800s, with an emphasis on the major reform efforts
since the mid-20th century. Following the complex dynamics of
public health policy across U.S. history, The Healthcare Debate
brings together a wide range of voices on the subject—presidents,
policymakers, reformers, lobbyists, and everyday citizens. Each of
its eight chronologically organized chapters focuses on the battle
over government involvement in healthcare in a specific era,
drawing on historic documents and the latest retrospective
research. With President Obama making healthcare reform his top
domestic priority in his first year in office, this remarkable new
book could not be more timely.
While analyzing the contentious debate over health care reform,
this much-needed study also challenges the argument that treating
medical patients like shoppers can significantly reduce health
expenditures. This revealing work focuses on the politics
surrounding the Affordable Care Act (ACA), explaining how and why
supporters and opponents have approached the issue as they have
since the act's passage in 2010. The first book to systematically
examine public knowledge of the ACA across time, it also documents
how that knowledge has remained essentially static since 2010,
despite the importance of health-policy reform to every American.
An important book for anyone concerned about the skyrocketing costs
of health care in the United States, the work accomplishes three
main tasks intended to help readers better understand one of the
most important policy challenges of our time. The early chapters
explain why congressional Democrats designed the Affordable Care
Act of 2010 as they did, clarifies some of the consequences of the
act's features, and examines why Republicans have fought the
implementation of the law so fiercely. The study then looks at how
the intersection of economics and politics applies to the ACA.
Finally, the book details what the public knows—and doesn't
know—about the law and discusses the prospects for citizens
gaining the knowledge they should have about the overall issue of
health-policy reform.
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