TAXES AND SPENDING ECONOMIC INTERVENTION /GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP SOCIAL WELFARE PROGRAMS CIVIL RIGHTS / CIVIL LIBERTIES EDUCATION POVERTY Comparisons with Other Industrialized Democracies
American Exceptionalism The small size of government General Measures: – –Taxes, employees, economic intervention, government ownership. Social Insurance (Social Security) – –no national Health, sickness pay, programs established later, fewer benefits, fewer universal programs Employment Regulation: – –Minimum wage (lower), other protections (fewer)
The small size of American government (contd.) Public Assistance – –US has more Family Programs: US lacks: – –Family Allowance – –Strict Child Support enforcement – –Paid Family Leave – –Subsidized Child Care
Total Government Debt, % of GDP
Country Sweden Denmark Australia Norway France Finland United Kingdom Austria Belgium Canada New Zealand Germany Netherlands Italy United States Switzerland Japan Government Employees: % of Total Employment
Expenditure by Program: % of GDP, 1985 OECD (mean) US
Sorted by total spending (US dollars) Military Spending, 1993
GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP Old Socialism: – –public ownership of the means of production – –Great Britain, for example New Socialism: – –private ownership – –extensive social welfare programs – –Sweden, for example
Social Welfare Programs Social Insurance (Social Security) Employment Regulation Public Assistance Family Programs
CORE SOCIAL INSURANCE PROGRAMS : OASDHI – –O ld A ge Pension, S urvivors Insurance, Disability Insurance, H ealth I nsurance Workers Compensation Unemployment Insurance Sickness Pay National Health Insurance
Dates of Enactment of Social Insurance Programs in Seven Nations Workman'sPensionSicknessUnemploymentHealth Country CompensationInsurance Canada France Germany Italy Sweden United King United States Source: Robert Kurdle and Theodore R. Marmor, "The Development of Welfare States in North America," in Flora and Heidenheimer (1981, 83)
Employment Regulation: US Fair Labor Standards Act – –40 hr. week, Minimum Wage, – –Child Labor, Family Leave US National Labor Relations Act – –Collective Bargaining Rights Worker Training Programs Affirmative Action
Family Programs: Family Allowance Strict Child Support enforcement Paid Family Leave Subsidized Child Care
Public Assistance Programs: AFDC Food Stamps Medicaid SSI ( formerly AB, APTD, OAA ) General Assistance Poverty Programs: Meals on Wheels, School Lunch, Head Start, Job Training, WIC, Energy Assistance
Exceptions to Exceptionalism Military spending, only since 1941 Prisons, criminal justice system – –Capital punishment Judicial system & litigation – –---e.g. states suing cigarette companies Education (maybe) Regulation (maybe) Tax expenditures Farm subsidies (partly) Prohibition Slavery and Jim Crow laws
Differences in program structure Europe: Comprehensive and Universal programs US: Programs targeted to specific groups Means tested Decentralized
Health Care: Europe and US Europe National Health Service, or National Health Insurance Covers % of pop Covers of costs United States Medicare (elderly) {Parts A & B} Medicaid (poor) Tax exclusion for employer coverage (middle class) Indian Health Services CHIPS (working poor, children) Veterans Health Care More………….
US Programs (continued) Black Lung Health Benefits Municipal Hospitals Community Health Clinics Community Mental Health Kidney dialysis program Covers 45% of pop Covers 45% of cost (excluding tax benefits)
Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Bill of Rights – –First Amendment (Speech, Press Religion) – –Second Amendment – –Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments Abortion Affirmative Action Power of the Judicial System
Imprisonment Rate: Selected Counrties Rate per 100,000 of population
EDUCATION Historical Development Size % Private Centralization / Equality Quality USA USA
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