Chapter 15 Domestic Policy Flashcards
Domestic Policy
a category of public policy that is comprised of policy decisions on matters affecting individuals within a political system
Social Welfare
governmental programs, such as social insurance and poverty programs, directed specifically toward promoting the well-being of individuals and families
Social Entitlements
programs, such as social security and medicaid, whereby eligible individuals receive benefits according to law
Social Darrwinism
a set of ideas applying Charles Darwin’s theory of biological evolution to society and holding that social relationships occur within a struggle for survival in which only the fittest survive
Progressive Era
an urban reform movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that called for direct primaries, restrictions on corporations, and improved public services that was influential in the administrations of Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson
New Deal
the first two terms of President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945), whose revolutionary policy initiatives established a pervasive and active role for the national government
Great Society
President Lyndon Johnson’s term for an egalitarian society that aggressive governmental action to help the poor and disadvantaged would attempt to create in the 1960s
Social Insurance Programs
welfare programs that provide cash or services to the aged, the disabled, and the unemployed, regardless of income level
Social Security Act of 1935
landmark legislation enacted in 1935 that firmly established for the first time a social welfare role for the national government by providing old age insurance, unemployment compensation, and grants to the states to provide cash assistance to dependent children and to the blind, disabled, and aged
Incrementalism
a model of decision making that holds that new policies differ only marginally from existing policies
Medicare
a public health insurance program in which government pays the providers of health care for medical services given to patients who aged or disabled
Unemployment Compensation
a social insurance policy that grants temporary financial assistance to the unemployed
Means-Tested Programs
type of social welfare program in which government provides cash or in-kind benefits to individuals who qualify by having little or no income
Relative Deprication
a definition of poverty that holds that individuals with less, regardless of their absolute income level, will feel poor or deprived relative to those who have more
Poverty Threshold
Income level differentiated by family size and annually adjusted for inflation, below which government defines individuals as being poor
Working Poor
individuals who, despite being employed or seeking employment, are still defined as poor because their low earnings are not enough to put them above the poverty threshold
Underclass
a proportion of the poor comprised of individuals isolated from the rest of society and for whom poverty is a continuing way of life
Curative Strategies
policy strategies designed to reach the fundamental causes of poverty and to enable individuals to get out of poverty and lead productive, self-sufficient lives
Alleviative Strategies
policy strategies designed to make poverty more bearable for individuals rather than designed to attack poverty by reaching ts fundamental causes
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
social welfare program, administered by the states and jointly funded by state and national revenues, that provides cash assistance, in participating states, to needy children, and one adult relative or an unemployed parent
Welfare Reform Act
a 1996 law that fundamentally altered the AFDC welfare program by renaming it TANF and placing requirements, as well as time limits, on its use
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
social welfare program administered by the social security administration whereby the national government guarantees a certain level of income for the needy, aged, blind, and disabled
Medicaid
a means-tested medical care program providing in-kind medical benefits for the poor
In-Kind Benefits
noncash benefits, such as medical care services, that the needy receive from some social welfare programs
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
a means-test program (formerly known as the food stamp program) that provides the eligible needy with cards that can be used only to purchase food
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
an independent agency that controls and abates air and water pollution and protects the environment from pollution by solid wastes, pesticides, radiation and toxic substances
Risk Assessment
the process of estimating the potentially dangerous consequences of damage that might be caused by a particular practice, such as smoking, or by the use of a particular product, such as the impact of the burning of fossil fuels on global warming
Risk Management
the process of making decisions that try to reduce or contain identified risks
