PPL 101 Holland final

What benefits can education provide?

1. Upward mobility

2. Assimilation of immigrants

3. Perpetuation of democracy

What makes education a right of the people?

The Constitution

What are the positive externalities of education?

1. Contributing citizens

2. Better workforce

3. Less need for public support/better quality of life

What are two emerging education policy issues?

1. Funding and quality of K-12 education

2. Access to college education

Historically, who provided funding for schools?

State and local governments

When did the federal government get involved in education?

1960s

What Act greatly increased the amount of federal funding for public schools?

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (1965)

How is K-12 education funded today?

1. State funds (1/2)

2. Local property taxes (2/5)

3. Small amount of federal funds

What are K-12 funding concerns?

1. Lack of buoyancy in property taxes

2. How much should state provide?

3. Equity of education between urban and rural

What is UNESCO?

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

What are some quality issues in K-12 education?

1. Declining academic performance

2. Quality of schools in poor rural and urban areas

What increased accountability for schools?

No Child Left Behind (2002)

What are market-based approaches to education reform?

1. Charter schools

2. School choice

3. School vouchers

What is a charter school?

Government supported and funded schools that are independent

What is school choice?

Allows parents to send their child to any public school in the area

What is a school voucher?

Government money given to parents so their child can attend private school. It doesn't always meet the cost of tuition, but helps ease the financial burden.

What are teacher quality approaches to education reform?

1. Merit pay

2. Teacher competency standards

3. Increasing teacher salaries

What is merit pay?

Teacher pay based on student achievement

What are teacher competency standards?

National standards set for teachers instead of a state by state approach

How would increased teacher salaries improve education?

More qualified and intelligent people would enter the education field

What was Obama's reform to No Child Left Behind?

The "Race to the Top" initiative, which awarded $4.35 billion to 11 states for education reform, including mandatory merit pay

What is Affirmative Action?

Increased college admittance of minority students based on diversity instead of academics

How are public colleges funded?

1. Tuition -- significant and growing portion

2. Local taxes

3. State appropriations -- declining portion

4. Research grants and donations

Why are tuition costs going up?

Decreased federal monetary support

What are Pell Grants?

Scholarships based on financial need

What did the 2010 student loan overhaul do?

Aimed to save government money and changed the management of student loans from private to federal lending

2011 Student Loan Reform

Executive order that allowed loans to be forgiven after 20 years

What is food policy?

Laws, regulations, decisions, and actions by governments and other institutions that influence food production, distribution, and consumption

What did the mechanical and technical revolution include?

Harvesting machinery, tractors, chemicals, seeds (GMOs)

What did Earl Butz focus on?

Changing farming practices from family to corporate (1970s)

What did agricultural industrialization bring?

Vertical integration and a significant reduction in family farms

What are the food system elements?

Food production, distribution and aggregation, food processing, marketing, markets and purchasing, preparation and consumption, and resource and waste recovery

What is a local food economy?

Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Farm Bill) considers "locally and regionally produced agricultural food product is less than 400 miles from its origin, or within the State in which it is produced."

Direct-to-consumer market arrangements

Farmers' markets, community supported agriculture (CSAs), mobile vendors, community gardens, household gardens

What did the Food Modernization Act (2010) do?

Provided FDA authority to focus on preventative food system instead of reacting to problems

What did the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act (2010) do?

Increased access to food for low-income children through the school lunch program

What is environmental policy?

Government actions that affect environmental quality and the use of natural resources

What are the three focus areas of environmental policy?

1. Pollution control/protection

2. Resource use and protection

3. Energy use and conservation

What is sustainable development?

Economic growth compatible with natural environmental systems and social goals

What is collaborative decision making?

Industry and other stakeholders work cooperatively with government officials. Instituted by Clinton administration.

What role do states play in environmental policy?

Implement federal policies

What kind of environmental solutions are generally favored?

Regulatory

What is the Environmental Protection Agengy (EPA)?

Independent executive agency that reports to and follows the lead of the current administration

What is the largest federal agency?

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

What was the era of environmental policy?

1970s

What were the main phases of environmental policy?

1960s: protect resources

1970s: control pollution

1980s-2000s: incremental reform, gridlock

What is the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA)?

Act that focused on the process of decision-making, not forcibly protecting the environment. Required Environmental Impact Statements (EIS).

What is an Environmental Impact Statement?

Study of natural v. human impacts that assesses the environments of proposed action and requires consultation with affected parties

What did the Clean Air Act (CAA) cover (1970)?

Air quality standards, auto emission limits (factories and vehicles), acid rain. Amended 1990.

What did the Clean Water Act (CWA) cover (1972)?

Regulates surface water to be "fishable and swimmable" and identifies "impaired waters"

What did the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFR) cover (1972)?

Food safety

What did the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) cover (1974)?

Health standards for public water supplies

What did the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) cover (1976)?

Hazardous waste

What did the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) cover (1976)?

Regulation of commercial chemicals; red tape, ineffective

What is the Superfund?

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act for hazardous waste. Criticized the most heavily of the '70s policies.

What were common themes of the '70s policies?

EPA regulation of pollutants, emphasize EPA and state command regulations on business and industry, EPA v. commercial interests

What's a major tool of environmental protection?

Government management and regulation

What are the major natural resource policies?

NEPA (1969), Federal Land Policy and Management Act (1976), National Forest Management Act (1976)

What did the Endangered Species Act cover (1973)?

Conservation goals v. economic interests, government got broader authority to protect habitats

What is an emerging environmental concern?

Water resources

What is new public management?

An approach to running public service organizations that is used in government and public service institutions and agencies, at both sub-national and national levels

What is the national performance review?

Clinton administration to reform the government

Which healthcare system does the USA have?

"Pluralistic" or "hybrid" system that blends public and private funding

What is a single payer healthcare system?

Universal healthcare system in which taxes pay for all healthcare. Also called a national system

How did healthcare policy evolve?

1930s-1960s: limited government role, public health and protection

1950s: employers deduct health benefit costs

1960s: government steps up, primarily to help poor and elderly

What is the current healthcare insurance system?

Employer-based insurance tied to work, government fills in some gaps

Is the US healthcare system efficient, equitable, and effective?

1. Not efficient because there is exorbitant spending but mediocre results.

2. Not equitable because not everyone has healthcare.

3. Effective because we have some of the best healthcare treatments in the world.

What do other countries have for healthcare?

Universal insurance where healthcare is a right

What is healthcare viewed as in the USA?

Merit good

Medicare Part A

Hospital care

Medicare Part B

Physician care (premiums about $100 per month)

Medicare Part C

Managed care portion (late 1990s)

Medicare Part D

Prescription drugs (added 2003)

Challenges to medicare

Complex and on an unsustainable path financially

What is medicaid?

Healthcare entitlement program for the very poor, including basic healthcare services and nursing home care

What are some challenges of medicaid?

1. Rising costs due to recession

2. Crushing state budgets that reduced access

What are state responses to financial challenges for medicaid?

Cutting eligibility and reimbursement

What is the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)(1997)?

Funding for children and families up to three times the poverty level

How is SCHIP (State Children's Health Insurance Program) funded?

Half states, half federal

What is the Veterans Healthcare System?

Government-managed healthcare/clinics and insurance for service-related injuries for veterans

What are some challenges of the Veterans Healthcare System?

Growing number of veterans and more needs, quality of care, access to care

Possible solutions for medicare

1. Reduce eligibility for the wealthy

2. Reduce benefits to basic plan, not full

3. Raise eligibility age

4. Increase fees and deductibles

5. Pay providers differently (fee for service)

6. Decrease spending for terminal illnesses

What are the major problems of the healthcare system?

1. Poor access to care

2. Growing costs

3. Healthcare will break the bank

Why are healthcare costs growing?

1. Fraud and abuse

2. Administrative costs

3. Duplication and competition by providers

4. Growing demand

5. Unhealthy lifestyles

6. Aging population

Problems with Affordable Care Act implementation

1. Enrollment issues on exchanges

2. States opting out of creating state exchanges

3. Insurers dropping out of state marketplaces

What is foreign policy?

Government actions that affect US national security, economic, and political goals

What group of people does foreign policy rely on?

Elites -- there is less transparency and public input

What policy tools are unique to foreign policy?

1. Diplomacy

2. Trade policies and restraints

3. Defense practices

4. Foreign aid

5. Spending/regulating

6. Surveillance

What are the key foreign policy institutions?

1. United Nations (1945)

2. National Security Council (1947)

3. Central Intelligence Agency (1947)

4. Marshall Plan (1948)

5. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) (1949)

What was the Marshall plan?

US funds used to rebuild Europe after WWII, strengthen alliances, and prevent the spread of communism

What is defense policy?

Military actions by the government

Who are the key actors in defense policy?

1. National Security Council

2. Joint Chiefs of Staff

3. Defense Department

4. Secretary of State

What is NATO (1949)?

Alliance of US and Western Europe over concerns of USSR aggression. West Germany joined but East Germany did not

What are the United Nations (1945)?

Group of 193 (initially 50) countries that promote cooperation and manage the effects of globalization

What are the agencies affiliated with the UN?

1. World Bank

2. International Monetary Fund

3. World Trade Organization (1995)

What is the UN Security Council?

Group of ten rotating countries and five permanent countries with veto power over the council's actions

What are the five permanent members of the UN Security Counil?

1. USA

2. China

3. Russia

4. France

5. UK

What is deterrence and why is it important?

Act of discouraging an action through threatened consequences (nuclear buildup). Mutually assured destruction will prevent countries from bombing each other.

What is nuclear proliferation?

Spread of nuclear weapons knowledge and technology to new nations such as India and Pakistan.

What does the NSA do?

Coordinate, direct, and perform highly specialized activities to protect US government information systems and produce foreign signals intelligence information