Public Policy and Current Events

Key Terms and Concepts in Public Policy

Social Programs

• Medicare:

  • A federal health insurance program in the United States for people aged 65 and older, as well as certain younger people with disabilities or chronic conditions.

• Medicaid:

  • A joint federal and state program that provides healthcare coverage to millions of Americans, including children, pregnant women, seniors, and people with disabilities.

  • Medicaid operates differently in each state, within federal guidelines.

• Social Security:

  • A federal insurance program providing benefits to retired workers, the disabled, and their families.

  • Funded through payroll taxes.

• Means-tested programs:

  • Government programs that provide benefits to individuals and families based on their income and assets.

  • Eligibility depends on falling below a specified income or asset level.

  • Examples include Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).

• Social insurance:

  • Government-sponsored programs that protect individuals from specific risks, such as unemployment, disability, or old age.

  • Individuals contribute to the program, and benefits are paid out based on eligibility criteria.

  • Social Security and Medicare are examples of social insurance programs.

Policy and Legislation

• Affordable Care Act (ACA):

  • A comprehensive healthcare reform law enacted in the United States in 2010.

  • Aims to increase the quality and affordability of health insurance, lower the uninsured rate, and reduce the costs of healthcare.

• 1996 Welfare Reform Act:

  • Officially known as the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act.

  • A significant piece of legislation that reformed the welfare system in the United States.

  • Introduced time limits for receiving welfare benefits, emphasized work requirements, and shifted responsibility for welfare programs to the states.

• Public policy:

  • A course of action or inaction undertaken by a government to address a public problem or achieve a specific goal.

  • Involves decision-making processes, laws, regulations, and programs.

• Promotional v. regulatory technique:

  • Promotional techniques:

    • Involve incentives, subsidies, or encouragement to influence behavior or achieve policy goals.

  • Regulatory techniques:

    • Involve rules, laws, and enforcement mechanisms to control or restrict behavior.

    • For example, environmental regulations or licensing requirements.

Geopolitical and Historical Context

• Cold War:

  • A period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies from the mid-1940s until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

  • Characterized by an arms race, ideological conflict, and proxy wars.

• Containment policy:

  • A foreign policy strategy adopted by the United States during the Cold War.

  • Aimed to prevent the spread of communism by containing it within its existing borders.

• Mutual assured destruction:

  • A doctrine of military strategy and national security policy during the Cold War.

  • Based on the idea that the use of nuclear weapons by two or more opposing sides would result in the complete annihilation of both the attacker and the defender.

• Afghanistan War:

  • Began in 2001 in response to the September 11 attacks.

  • Aimed to dismantle al-Qaeda and remove the Taliban regime from power.

• Iraq War:

  • Began in 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a United States-led coalition.

  • Cited reasons included concerns about weapons of mass destruction and the desire to remove Saddam Hussein from power.

• War in Ukraine:

  • An ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine that escalated significantly in 2022.

• US v. China:

  • Refers to the current geopolitical and economic competition between the United States and China.

Socioeconomic Factors

• Income inequality:

  • The unequal distribution of income across a population.

• Income inequality in the United States:

  • The extent to which income is distributed unevenly among Americans.

• Income inequality in America:

  • Same definition as above, emphasizing the specific context of the United States.

• Happiest people in the world:

  • A subjective measure often based on surveys and studies that assess levels of happiness and well-being in different countries.