文档介绍：Chapter 13
Domestic and Economic Policy
The Policy Making Process
agenda building -- identifying a problem and getting it on the agenda
policy formulation – the debate that occurs between government officials, and between the public in the media, and in campaigns
policy adoption – the selection of a strategy for addressing a problem
policy implementation – the administration of the selected policy (by bureaucrats, the courts, etc.)
policy evaluation – when the public, officials and groups determine if the selected policy has the desired impact
Major Government Assistance Programs
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) –replaced AFDC in 1996, this program uses federal funds which are administered by the states to help needy families.
Supplemental Security e (SSI) – provides a minimum e to the elderly and disabled who do not qualify for Social Security benefits.
Food Stamps – these coupons that can be used to purchase food are now distributed to more than 28 million Americans with little or no e
Earned e Tax Credit (EITC) – a tax credit used by low e workers who get back part or all pf the their Social Security taxes
Economic Policy Making
Fiscal Policy – the use of changes in government spending or taxation to change national economic variables, like the unemployment rate
- Keynesian Economic Theory posits that using fiscal policy can alter economic variables (increasing government spending during economic turn downturns, for example)
ary Policy – the use of changes in the money supply to change credit markets, unemployment and the inflation rate
- ary policy is determined by the Federal Open mittee (FOMC), part of the Federal Reserve System
Budget Deficits and the Public Debt
~ the deficit is when the government spends more money than it receives in any given year
~ the public debt is the total amount of debt carried by the federal government, also called the national debt