Chapter 15-16 Notes - Roberson PDF

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Chapter 15: Social and Economic Policy 15.1 Roots of Public Policy: The Policy-Making Process 

Theories of the Policy-Making Process •Elite Theory •Bureaucratic Theory •Special Interest Theory •Pluralist Theory • Choice of Theory Depends on the Type of Policy. – Distributive policy – Regulatory policy – Redistributive policy

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The Policy-Making Cycle •Agenda Setting – Deciding which issues to discuss •Policy Formulation – Crafting of proposed course of action •Policy Adoption – Approval of a policy proposal •Policy Implementation – Process of carrying out public policies •Policy Evaluations – Did policy achieve its goals?

15.2 Fiscal Policy 

The Foundations of Fiscal Policy • Fiscal Policy – Use of taxing and spending policies to stabilize the economy • Laissez-Faire – Limited government role – U.S. policy prior to the 1930s •Keynesian Economics – Approach developed by John Maynard Keynes during the Great Depression – Government spending can stimulate economic growth. – Benefits of spending outweigh cost of budget deficits. • Drawbacks of Budget Deficits – National debt can cause inflation. – National debt must be paid back with interest. • Revenue Act of 1964 – Reduced personal and corporate income taxes – Expanded the economy – Led to 4% unemployment • Reagan’s “Supply-Side Economics” (1980s) – Deep cuts in tax rates – Federal deficits expanded

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The National Debt and Deficit • No Limit to Annual Federal Budget Deficit or National Debt •Budget Deficits Became the Norm in the 1980s. •Economic Slowdown of 2008 – Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) – American Recovery and Reinvestment Act •Budget Control Act of 2011 – Automatic debt ceiling increases – Triggered automatic spending cuts in 2013

15.3 Monetary Policy 

The Federal Reserve System • Federal Reserve Board • Federal Open Market Committee • Twelve Federal Reserve Banks •Other Member Banks •Board of Governors – Seven members – Politically independent

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Tools of Monetary Policy •Open Market Operations – Buying and setting of government securities, or debt • Discount Rate – Rate of interest at which it lends money to member banks • Reserve Requirements – Designate the portion of deposits that member banks must retain on hand •Extraordinary Measures to Stimulate Bank Lending – Purchase of mortgage-backed securities – Credit easing – Quantitative easing

15.4 Health Policy • Medicare – Health insurance for people sixty-five and older – Administered by the Department of Health and Human Services • Medicaid – Health insurance for the poor and disabled ▪ Recipients must meet eligibility requirements. – Joint venture between the national and state governments The Affordable Care Act •Enacted in 2010 •Goal: Ensure Nearly All Americans Access to Health Coverage • Major Provisions – Government-run exchanges – Individual mandate •States Have Challenged the Program. • Republicans Vow to “Repeal and Replace.” • Tools to Protect Public Health – Immunizations, education, advertisements, regulations • Medical Research – National Institutes of Health • Health Threats Related to the Environment – Air and water pollution – Lead poisoning 15.5 Education Policy Primary and Secondary Education • No Child Left Behind Act (2002) – Greater federal control over education policy – High standards and measurable goals – Became unpopular over time

•Every Student Succeeds Act (2015) – Returned control to the states – Withdrew federal support for the Common Core •School Choice – Vouchers – Charter schools Higher Education • Research grants • Military academies •Improving access to affordable higher education – Federal Direct Student Loan Program – College Work Study – Pay as You Earn loan repayment plans (2015) ▪ Cap repayments at 10% of income 15.6 Social Welfare Policy The Foundations of Social Welfare Policy •Social Security Act (1935) – Beginning of permanent U.S. welfare state – Three major components ▪ Old-age insurance (Social Security) ▪ Public assistance for the needy, blind, and families with dependent children (known as SSI) ▪ Unemployment insurance and compensation – One of the most successful government programs Social Welfare Programs Today •Entitlement Programs – Non–means-tested – Means-tested •Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance – Most employees covered by Social Security – Current workers fund benefits for retirees. • Unemployment Insurance – Covers people who lose their jobs through no fault of their own •Supplemental Security Income – Covers needy elderly and disabled citizens • Family and Child Support – Aid to Families with Dependent Children – Temporary Assistance for Needy Families •Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – Food assistance for the poor

15.7 Toward Reform: Ongoing Challenges in Social and Economic Policy Making •Agenda Setting – Opportunities are rare. •Policy Adoption – Incrementalism •Implementation – Policies change shape as they are carried out. – Policies subject to challenge

Chapter 16: Foreign and Defense Policy 16.1 Roots of U.S. Foreign and Defense Policy Isolationism in the Early Republic •Great Britain versus France – Hamilton favored British. – Jefferson favored French. •Isolationism – Sidestepping “entangling alliances” – Washington’s Farewell Address • Monroe Doctrine – Warned European powers to stay away from the Western Hemisphere The United States as an Emerging Power • Trade Policy and Commerce – Tariffs – Most favored nation status • Continental Expansion and Manifest Destiny – Major land takings and purchases – Divine plan for expansion to the Pacific • Dominance over the Western Hemisphere – Roosevelt Corollary •Interests in Asia World War I and the Interwar Years • U.S. Initially Neutral – European immigrants to United States deeply divided about the war •German Submarine Warfare – Wilson: fighting “to make the world safe for democracy” – United States entered war in 1917 • League of Nations • Disarmament and Isolationism

World War II and Its Aftermath • U.N. Security Council – America’s role: “leader of the free world” •President Franklin D. Roosevelt – Active role in diplomacy •Economic Peace – International Monetary Fund (IMF) – World Bank – General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) The Cold War and Containment • Cold War – Defined the international system from the end of WWII to the collapse of communism in the late 1980s through the early 1990s • Containment – Opposition to Soviet expansion • Deterrence – Stockpile of nuclear weapons – “Mutually assured destruction” (MAD) • Truman Doctrine – Economic and military aid to countries fighting communism • Marshall Plan – U.S. financing of postwar rebuilding of Europe • North Atlantic Treaty Organization – Collective security pact •Berlin Wall – Divided communist East Berlin from democratic West Berlin • Military Conflicts in the Cold War – Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) ▪ Closest the world has been to nuclear war – Korean War (1950–53) ▪ United States supported the South Korean regime against Communist forces in North Korea. – Vietnam War (1960s–75) ▪ United States supported South Vietnamese regime against Communist forces in North Vietnam. • Détente – Nixon declared end to “era of confrontation” (1969). – Strategic Arms Limitations Treaties (SALT I and SALT II) – Failed to establish rules related to involvement in developing world • The End of the Cold War – Carter’s focus: human rights – Reagan Doctrine – Mikhail Gorbachev’s reforms

The Post–Cold War World •Gulf War (1991–92) – U.S.-led coalition reversed Iraq’s occupation of Kuwait. •President Bill Clinton – Promoted expansion of democracy and free markets – Secured passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) • al-Qaeda – Began to attack American targets overseas (late 1990s) – Opposed U.S. involvement in Arab and Muslim countries – Led by Osama bin Laden September 11, 2001, and the War on Terror •September 11 – Nineteen members of al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial airplanes. – Two crashed into the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon, and one in a field in Pennsylvania • The War in Afghanistan – U.S.-led coalition sought to depose the government and deny a safe haven to terrorists. – Osama bin Laden captured and killed in 2011 • The War in Iraq – President Bush declared Iraq, North Korea, and Iran an “axis of evil.” – Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003) ▪ Divided Americans ▪ Not intended to be a long, drawn-out war ▪ Last American combat forces left in 2011. • New Terrorist Threats – ISIS 16.2 Foreign and Defense Policy Decision Making The Constitution • Foreign Policy Powers – Granted to the national government – Divided between the president and Congress •Presidential Powers – Commander in chief – Appoints ambassadors, subject to Senate approval • Congressional Powers – Funds military – Declares war

The Executive Branch • The President – Relies on National Security Council • The Departments of State, Defense, and Homeland Security – State Department formulates foreign policy. – Defense Department formulates military policy. – Homeland Security straddles both areas. • The Intelligence Community – Central Intelligence Agency Congress • Oversight – Hearings to monitor agency actions – “Fact-finding” missions abroad • Treaties and Executive Agreements – Treaties require Senate approval, while executive agreements do not. • Appointments and Appropriations – Senate responsible for approving or rejecting presidential appointments – Can cut funding for military action • War Powers – War Powers Resolution ▪ President reports to Congress within forty-eight hours. ▪ Ineffective restraint on presidential power The Judiciary • Limited Role in Foreign and Defense Policy •Interventions to Protect Liberty – Habeas corpus for suspected terrorists Interest Groups and Political Parties • Business Groups – Military-industrial complex • Ethnic Interest Groups – American-Israel Public Affairs Committees – Cuban-American National Foundation • Foreign Governments and Companies – Acquiring foreign aid, preventing hostile legislation • Ideological-Public Interest Groups – Think tanks, nongovernmental organizations • Disagreements along Party Lines – Republicans more assertive, unilateral – Democrats more inclined toward diplomacy, use of international institutions

16.3 Contemporary Challenges in Foreign and Defense Policy The International Context • Foreign Policy Realism – Nations act to protect their economic and security interests. – Emphasis on force • Foreign Policy Idealism – Nations act to promote their values and principles. – Emphasis on diplomacy, multilateral institutions Trade • Types of Trade Policy – Protectionism – Strategic trade policy – Free trade system • Making Trade Policy – Bilateral agreements – Regional trade agreements ▪ NAFTA ▪ Trans-Pacific Partnership – Global free-trade system Terrorism • Terrorism against the United States – Steady flow of assaults since 9/11 ▪ Fort Hood, 2009 ▪ Boston Marathon bombing, 2013 ▪ San Bernardino, CA, shooting 2015 • Counterterrorism Policy – Diplomacy – Military power – Economic power Nuclear Weapons • Disarmament – Eliminating nuclear weapons – Slim prospects •Arms Control – Decreasing the number and types of weapons • Defense – Increasing capacity to block or intercept attacks • Counterproliferation – Using preemptive military action against threats

Global Climate Change •Kyoto Protocol (1997) – Landmark multilateral agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions • Climate Action Plan (2013) – Cut U.S. carbon pollution – Prepare United States for impacts of climate change – Lead international efforts to address climate change • U.S.-China Agreement (2015) – Collaboration to phase out hydrofluorocarbons, develop carbon “capture and storage systems” •Paris Climate Agreement 16.4 Toward Reform: Emerging Challenges China •Both a Challenger and Logical Partner – China depends on the U.S. market. – U.S. borrows heavily from China. • China Is Modernizing Its Military Capabilities – Artificial islands in the South China Sea – U.S. response: deploying more military forces to the Pacific Russia •President Vladimir Putin’s Consolidation of Power – Control of Russian media – Repression of political dissent – Use of military ▪ Invasions of Georgia, Ukraine ▪ Intervention in Syria Europe •European Union – Twenty-eight member nations – Promotes cooperation rather than conflict – Severe challenges ▪ Several countries at risk of default on loans ▪ Massive inflows of refugees from Syria, Iraq, and other conflict zones ▪ Terrorist attacks ▪ U.K. withdrawal The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region • The Entire Region Has Become Destabilized – Uprisings starting in 2010 – Civil wars, military crackdowns • U.S. Interests – Protecting allies: Turkey, Israel – Protecting global oil supplying – Thwarting terrorist forces...