Reagan, social change

Question 1

What were the 2 types of poor that Reagan saw

Answer 1

-‘Deserving poor’
-‘Welfare scroungers’

Question 2

How did OBRA impact the poor?

Answer 2

• Cuts that were made mainly targeted federal spending on projects that aided the poorest
• altered the AFDC programme; fewer people were eligible and many payments were capped

Question 3

what does AFDC stand for

Answer 3

Aid to Families with Dependent Children

Question 4

What was ‘workfare’

Answer 4

Administration wanted to change welfare, by requiring at least one working parent before it paid out family benefit

Question 5

Problems with workfare (2)

Answer 5

-Much of the work provided paid below minimum wage, sometimes less than benefit, so families struggled.
-Single parent families found childcare impossible to find, making it impossible to work

Question 6

Number of low-income homes available statistics

Answer 6

1970- 2.4 million low-income homes available to families that applied for them
1985- none were available

Question 7

How many families qualified for low-income housing in 1985

Answer 7

3.7 million

Question 8

Federal funding for low-income homes stats (2)

Answer 8

1978- spent $32 billion
1988- $9billion

Question 9

Federal funding to help homelessness stats

Answer 9

1984- $300 million
1988- $1.6 billion

Question 10

Legislation to help homelessness

Answer 10

1987 McKinney Act- set up the Federal Emergency Management Food and Shelter Programme to be run by FEMA

Question 11

What were Reagan’s welfare measures (4)

Answer 11

• Job Training Partnership Act 1982
• Social Security Reform Bill 1983
• McKinney Vento Homeless Assistance Act 1987
• Family Support Act 1988

Question 12

Job Training Partnership Act 1982 (2)

Answer 12

• Shifts job training from federal hands to state and private schemes
• Removes any need for the trainees to have their incomes made up to the minimum wage

Question 13

Social Security Reform Bill 1983 (3)

Answer 13

• Raises the amount government takes from wages to cover the benefit
• Makes part of benefit payments taxable
• Changes the earning test for eligibility

Question 14

McKinney Homelessness Assistance Act 1987

Answer 14

-Sets up the Federal Emergency Management Food and Shelter Programme to be run by FEMA

Question 15

Family Support Act 1988 (2)

Answer 15

-Family only eligible for benefits if at least 1 parent is working for at least 16 hours a week
-Single parents expected to finish education and undergo job training, the state to provide childcare

Question 16

Positive impact on working families

Answer 16

Some did benefit from lower taxes

Question 17

Negative impact on working families (4)

Answer 17

• Hit hard by the changes to the family credit regulations
• Hit by rising interest rates that pushed up housing costs
• Between 1980-7, average mortgage debt increased by 30%
• Rate of foreclosure quadrupled

Question 18

Impact on worker’s leisure time (2)

Answer 18

1973- workers had on average 26 hours of leisure time a week
1987-16 hours

Question 19

Impact had on young people in the workforce

Answer 19

• Were worse off than their elders
• 2-tier wage structure emerged in many business; Established workers kept the wage rates and benefits. whilst new workers could be offered a lower salary and fewer benefits for doing the same job

Question 20

Reagan’s desire to cut back on federal involvement result on BA

Answer 20

• Unwilling to extend civil rights legislation or push for affirmative action

Question 21

What scheme did Reagan abandon+ who did it harm?

Answer 21

Abandonment of busing students was particularly harmful to black and Hispanic americans
-Children in the poorest and most deprived areas would have to attend these schools, therefore creating segregated schooling

Question 22

What funding did the Reagan administration withdraw

Answer 22

Withdrew 40% of its funding for bilingual education

Question 23

What type of black americans were able to get ahead

Answer 23

• Hard-working, well-educated, middle-class, conformist black Americans could get ahead
• Especially women, filled 2 minority ‘quotas’ for businesses

Question 24

What Civil Rights Act did Reagan veto

Answer 24

1988- Tried to veto the Civil Rights Restoration Act, which undid a SC ruling that limited anti-discrimination laws

Question 25

Minority accomplishments in the Reagan years (3)

Answer 25

• Major cities such as New York, Chicago and Philadelphia elected black Mayors
• Black middle class continued to grow
• Jesse Jackson’s run for the 1988 Democratic nomination showed black political strength

Question 26

Women’s economic position under Reagan

Answer 26

-1980 earned 62% of what men earned
-1990 earned 72% of what men earned

Question 27

What was defeated in 1982

Answer 27

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

Question 28

Who did Reagan appoint to the SC

Answer 28

Sandra Day O’Connor (who was liberal on abortion)

Question 29

Prisons

Answer 29

• During the 80s, drug offenders constituted 60% of rising prison population
• over half were black or Hispanic

Question 30

Welfare to Work programmes were enacted by how many states

Answer 30

40

Question 31

What did the 1986 Tax Reform Act remove

Answer 31

• working poor from federal income taxation

Question 32

What was passed in 1988

Answer 32

Fair Housing Act of 1988; expanded provisions to cover families with children and disabled