Public Policy - Elarba Badih PDF

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Elarba Badih...

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Public Policy  Public Policy o Actions and activities of the government in dealing with some problems or concern o Public policies are thus government policies o There are three types of policies: Redistributive, Distributive, and Regulatory  Types of Policy o Redistributive  Policies that shift resources from the ‘haves’ to the ‘have nots’ o Distributive  Policies funded by all taxpayers that address the desires of particular groups o Regulatory  Polices designed to restrict or monitor the actions of certain groups or individuals  Public Policy Model o Agenda setting o Policy formulation o Policy adoption o Policy implementation o Policy evaluation  State Agencies and Public Policy o Interactions between interest groups, political parties, chief executives, the legislature, and citizens o More than 200 state agencies  Multiple, independent state boards, commissions, and agencies  Limited public accountability  Limited centralized executive control  State Employees and Public Policy o Number of state employees  318,000 state employees  40% work for the Texas public universities o Competence, Pay and Retention  Positions used to be filled through the patronage system o Merit system  Agencies develop own criteria in TX  Poverty in Texas o In 2014, Texas had seventh highest poverty rate in nation at 17.4% o Texas is home to 2 of the 5 poorest metropolitan areas in the country (2014-Wall Street Journal) o Today, the per capita income in Texas is $24,870  National average: $27,334

 Health and Human Services o Department that helps provide social services o Programs help provide food, shelter, and health care o Texas spends over $25 billion a year on HHS  Operate at a disadvantage…Why?  TANF (welfare) o TANF provides ‘cash’ payment to recipients o In 2012, about 40,867 families received TANF benefits o To receive TANF a family of three cannot earn more than $2,256 a year  Family would receive $277 a month  SNAF (food stamps) o Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program o Program that provides food assistance for low income families o Benefits are distributed using the Lone Star Card o Joint Federal-State program  Health Care o Rising health care costs have put a strain on Texas o 1 in 4 Texans have no health insurance coverage o in 2012, Texas led the nation in uninsured people (27.6%) o lack of uninsured continues to place a burden on the state  Medicaid o Provides medical coverage for low income individuals o January 2012, there were over 3.3 million people enrolled o The majority of those enrolled, were under 19 years of age (75%)  Children’s Health Insurance o Federal-state program (CHIP) o Provides health insurance and medical care to children o For families who make too much to qualify for Medicaid  Affordable Care Act o First major change in national health policy o Primary purpose was to establish health insurance exchanges o ACA has been especially unpopular with state government  Regulation of Public Utilities o Public Utility Commission o Overseas public utilities; telephone, water, electricity o Deregulation, emphasis on competition  Texas electricity rates among highest in the nation  Business Promotion o Highways  80,000 miles of highways and bridges  Cannot keep up with population growth o Tourism  Third largest industry in Texas

 Generates $1.2 billion for this economy o Texas Parks and Wildfire Department  Controls most recreational areas  Texas ranked 49th in U.S. on money spent on state parks  Transportation (TXDOT) o TXDOT is governed by a commission o One of the best-known agencies in the state o Overseas construction and maintenance on state highways o Responsible for developing public mass transportation in the state...