American Politics Today - Essentials (3rd Ed)

448 CHAPTER 14|ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL POLICY

Despite the broad success of the fi nancial rescue, it remained a political liabil-

ity. The rescue was widely perceived as a bailout of Wall Street. Many citizens

were outraged over corporate salaries and bonuses, the bailout of the auto indus-

try, and the perception that not enough was being done to help average Americans.

The economy lost 8.4 million jobs in 2008–09, millions of Americans were losing

their homes, and unemployment remained stuck around 8 percent through 2012.

Discontent with the bailout contributed to the crushing defeat for Democrats in

the 2010 midterm elections, despite the fact that it was a bipartisan plan passed at

the end of the Bush administration.^37 While the fi nancial rescue remains unpopu-

lar, it is clear that things would have been much worse without the swift action by

Congress, the Treasury, and the Fed. Still, the fi nancial rescue and the regulation

of Wall Street remained issues in the 2012 election.

SOCIAL POLICY

Social policy is generally defi ned in terms of the “social safety net,” or welfare,

which the American Heritage Dictionary defi nes as “receiving regular assis-

tance from the government or a private agency because of need.” A broader con-

ception includes government programs aimed at achieving a general social goal,

such as support for public education, the income tax deduction for interest paid

on home mortgages (to encourage home ownership), or job creation and growth.

This section addresses both conceptions of social policies and also discusses

how some traditional social welfare programs such as Social Security are not

based on need.

HISTORY AND CONTEXT OF SOCIAL POLICY

This section outlines the evolution of social policy in the United States and

describes the various types of social policy. It is also important to understand the

need for social policy by examining the nature of poverty in the United States.

HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

Early in our nation’s history, the federal government took little responsibility for

social welfare. Private charities, churches, and families largely took responsibil-

ity for the poor and disadvantaged. The fi rst signifi cant social policy appeared in

the nineteenth century in the form of federal fi nancial support for Civil War vet-

erans and their families. Between 1880 and 1910 the national government spent

more than a quarter of its budget on Civil War pensions and support for veter-

ans’ widows.^27 During the recession of the mid-1890s, populist and progressive

reformers sought a national system of unemployment compensation, but the

desire for such extensive policies was several decades ahead of its time (see Nuts

and Bolts 14.2).

Not until the 1930s and Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s presidency did the gov-

ernment undertake broad-scale social policies. The stock market crash in 1929

EXPLAIN WHAT WE MEAN

BY SOCIAL POLICY, DISCUSS

HOW THE NATIONAL

GOVERNMENT'S ROLE

IN SOCIAL POLICY HAS

EVOLVED, AND ANALYZE

THE CURRENT MAJOR

AREAS OF SOCIAL POLICY

social policy An area of pub-
lic policy related to maintaining
or enhancing the well-being of
individuals.

welfare Financial or other assis-
tance provided to individuals by the
government, usually based on need.