American Public Policy An Introduction

by Cochran, Clarke E.; Mayer, Lawrence C.; Carr, T. R.; Cayer, N. Joseph

• ISBN13: 9780534601638
• ISBN10: 0534601634
• Edition: 8th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-08-29
• Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing

Summary

Learn the practical methods of public policy analysis so you can apply them to real life policies with AMERICAN PUBLIC POLICY. This textbook focuses on specific, substantive issues of public policy and analyzes American public policies in a historical context so you can evaluate, analyze, and debate whether established policies are successful or if alternative policies could better serve the American public.

Table of Contents

Preface	xvi
About the Authors	xix
1 PUBLIC POLICY: AN INTRODUCTION	1	(19)
Studying Public Policy	1	(2)
What Constitutes Public Policy?	1	(1)
Why Study Public Policy?	2	(1)
Defining Major Concepts	3	(12)
Policy Analysis	3	(1)
Categories of Public Policy	3	(3)
Models of the Policy Process	6	(1)
Stages of Policy Development	7	(3)
Aspects of Policy Evaluation	10	(5)
Approaches Taken by This Book	15	(1)
Chapter Plan	15	(1)
National Focus	16	(1)
Comparative Information	16	(1)
Summary	16	(1)
Notes	17	(1)
Resources	18	(2)
2 CONTEXTS OF PUBLIC POLICY	20	(24)
The Institutional Context	20	(12)
Intergovernmental Relations	21	(3)
Participants in Intergovernmental Relations	24	(1)
Contemporary Intergovernmental Realities	25	(1)
Forms of Intergovernmental Interaction	26	(1)
Changing Intergovernmental Relations	27	(3)
Whither Federalism?	30	(2)
The Economic Context	32	(1)
The Demographic Context	33	(3)
The Ideological Context	36	(3)
The Cultural Context	39	(1)
Summary	40	(1)
Notes	41	(1)
Resources	42	(2)
3 THE ECONOMY: CHANGING GOVERNMENT-BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS	44	(30)
Issue Background: Key Concepts in Economics	44	(9)
The Free-Enterprise System	45	(3)
History of Government's Role	48	(2)
Inflation and Recession	50	(1)
Microeconomic App roaches	50	(3)
Contemporary Policy: Case Studies in Economic Intervention	53	(9)
The Federal Trade Commission: Traditional Economic Regulation	53	(5)
Community Revitalization Issues: Merging Social and Economic Concerns	58	(2)
International Trade	60	(2)
Policy Evaluation: Encouraging Competition or Discouraging Innovation?	62	(6)
Deregulation	62	(1)
International Trade	63	(1)
Assistance to Business	64	(1)
Effects of Regulation	64	(2)
Changes in Regulation	66	(2)
Future Alternatives: Reforming the Relationship of Government and the Economy	68	(2)
Summary	70	(2)
Notes	72	(1)
Resources	73	(1)
4 ECONOMIC ISSUES: TAXING, SPENDING, AND BUDGETING	74	(27)
Issue Background: Concepts and Issues	74	(5)
Economic Policy Obstacles	75	(2)
Macroeconomic Approaches	77	(2)
Contemporary Policy: Approaches to Managing the Economy	79	(7)
Traditional Economic Theory	80	(1)
Supply-Side Economics	80	(1)
Budget Deficits in the 1980's and 1990's	81	(3)
Tax Reform	84	(2)
Policy Evaluation: Success or Failure?	86	(8)
Social Orders	86	(1)
Inflation	87	(1)
Fiscal Policy	87	(3)
Federal Revenues and Spending	90	(2)
Fiscal Policy Evaluation	92	(1)
Defense Spending	93	(1)
Future Alternatives: Spending, Taxes, and the Deficit	94	(3)
Taxes	94	(1)
Other Future Issues	95	(2)
Summary	97	(1)
Notes	98	(1)
Resources	99	(2)
5 ENERGY AND ENØONMENTAL POLICIES: POLICY COMPLACENCY	101	(43)
Energy Policy Issue Background: Complacency and Crisis	101	(5)
Traditional Energy Policy	101	(3)
Western Vulnerability: OPEC and the Arab Oil Embargo	104	(2)
Contemporary Policy: From Complacency to Crisis to Complacency	106	(6)
Energy Problems Emerge	106	(1)
Global Dependence on Fossil Fuels	107	(1)
Energy Policy after 1973	108	(3)
Energy Policy after 1980	111	(1)
Energy Policy after 2000	112	(1)
Policy Evaluation: Continued Fossil Fuel Dependence	112	(8)
Alternatives to Fossil Fuels	113	(2)
Nuclear Power	115	(3)
Political Impact of Continued Oil Dependence	118	(2)
Future Alternatives: Energy Policy Complacency	120	(2)
Environmental Policy	122	(1)
Issue Background: A Legacy of Environmental Abuse	122	(8)
Air Pollution	123	(2)
Water and Solid-Waste Pollution	125	(2)
Toxic and Hazardous Waste	127	(2)
Acid Rain	129	(1)
The Environmental Legacy	129	(1)
Contemporary Environmental Policy	130	(3)
Water-Pollution Policy	130	(1)
Air-Pollution Policy	131	(1)
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)	131	(2)
Policy Evaluation: Searching for Direction	133	(2)
Current Policy Direction and Values	133	(1)
Reduced Public Concern	134	(1)
The Politics of Regulation	134	(1)
Enforcement Problems	135	(1)
Future Alternatives: Unresolved Policy Issues	135	(5)
International Treaties	135	(1)
Self-Regulation of the Market	136	(1)
Taxes and Legal Action	136	(1)
The Role of State Governments	137	(1)
Public Attitudes	138	(1)
Energy and the Environment	138	(2)
Summary	140	(1)
Notes	141	(1)
Resources	142	(2)
6 CRIME AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE: DILEMMAS OF SOCIAL CONTROL	144	(104)
Issue Background: The Growth and Decline of Crime	146	(13)
The Extent of Crime	146	(5)
Reasons for Crime	151	(8)
Contemporary Policy: Constitutional Rights and the Deterrence of Crime	159	(10)
Confessions and the Right to Counsel	160	(2)
The Exclusionary Rule and Search and Seizure	162	(1)
Capital Punishment	163	(6)
Policy Evaluation: Flaws in the Criminal Justice System	169	(7)
Confessions and the Right to Counsel	169	(2)
The Exclusionary Rule and Search and Seizure	171	(1)
Capital Punishment	172	(2)
Conclusion: Crime and Criminal Procedure	174	(2)
Future Alternatives: Policy Options for Reducing Crime	176	(20)
Drug-Related Crimes	177	(2)
Violence against Women	179	(2)
Crimes of Violence and Gun Control	181	(8)
Decriminalization and Deterrence	189	(1)
A Controversial Explanation: Abortion and Crime	190	(1)
Strengthening the Police	191	(1)
Penal Reform, Sentencing, and Recidivism	191	(3)
Zero Tolerance for Petty Street Crime	194	(1)
Limiting the Alternatives to Punishment	194	(2)
Summary	196	(1)
Notes	197	(3)
Resources	200	(1)
7 INCOME SUPPORT: SECURITY, WORK, OR DEPENDENCE?	201	(47)
Issue Background: Responding to Poverty	201	(12)
Defining Poverty	201	(4)
How Many Poor?	205	(1)
Who Are the Poor?	206	(3)
The Causes of Poverty	209	(2)
The Welfare State	211	(2)
Contemporary Policy: Social Insurance Programs	213	(3)
Social Security	213	(1)
Unemployment Insurance	214	(2)
Policy Evaluation: Does Social Security Still Work?	216	(3)
Social Security Successes	216	(1)
The Social Security Dilemma	216	(1)
Is Social Security Fair?	217	(1)
Unemployment Compensation	218	(1)
Future Alternatives: The Difficulty of Social Security Reform	219	(4)
The Future of Social Security	219	(1)
Quick Fixes	220	(1)
Diversifying Social Security Investment	220	(1)
Privatizing Social Security	221	(1)
Pensions	222	(1)
Contemporary Policy: Public Assistance Programs	223	(7)
Cash Assistance Programs	223	(4)
In Kind Benefits	227	(2)
Work/Employment Programs	229	(1)
Public Assistance Spending	229	(1)
Policy Evaluation: Public Assistance	230	(6)
Accomplishments of Public Assistance	230	(1)
Has Welfare Reform Worked?	231	(4)
TANF Re-authorization	235	(1)
Future Alternatives in Public Assistance	236	(7)
Children and Poverty	237	(2)
The Underclass	239	(1)
Housing Programs and Homelessness	240	(1)
Employment Issues	241	(1)
Conclusions	242	(1)
Summary	243	(1)
Notes	244	(3)
Resources	247	(1)
8 HEALTH CARE: UNLIMITED NEEDS, LIMITED RESOURCES	248	(41)
Issue Background: The Health Care System and Its Problems	248	(14)
The Structure of American Health Care	248	(1)
Managed Care	249	(2)
Paying for Health Care	251	(1)
Other Nations	251	(2)
How Healthy Is America?	253	(2)
Inequities in Access to Health Care	255	(1)
High Cost	256	(5)
Quality of Health Care	261	(1)
Contemporary Policy: Health Care for the Poor and Aged	262	(5)
Medicare	262	(3)
Medicaid	265	(1)
State Children s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)	266	(1)
Other Federal Programs	267	(1)
Policy Evaluation: Health Care at the Crossroads	267	(4)
Medicare and Medicaid	268	(1)
Questioning the Structures of Health Care	269	(2)
Future Alternatives: Reshaping a Complex System?	271	(13)
Access	271	(5)
Medicare Reform	276	(4)
Cost Control	280	(1)
Beginning and End of Life	281	(2)
Long-Term Care	283	(1)
Summary	284	(2)
Notes	286	(2)
Resources	288	(1)
9 EDUCATION: CONFLICT IN POLICY DIRECTION	289	(44)
Issue Background: Historícal Perspectives and the Onset of Federal Involvement in Education	290	(6)
The Tradition of Free Public Education	290	(1)
The Tradition of Local Control	290	(1)
An Emerging Role for State Governments	291	(1)
Federal Involvement in Education	291	(1)
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965: Expanding the Federal Policy Role	291	(3)
The Federal Role in Higher Education	294	(2)
Contemporary Policy: Remedying Social Inequality Through Education	296	(5)
The Issue of Unequal Financial Resources	296	(3)
Equality in Education	299	(2)
Educational Inequality outside the United States	301	(1)
Policy Evaluation: Educational Quality in the United States	301	(8)
Concern over Poor Student Achievement	302	(3)
Questioning Teacher Competency	305	(1)
Merit Pay and Master Teachers	306	(1)
Bilingual Education	307	(1)
Multiculturalism	308	(1)
Future Alternatives: Community Control, Private Schools, a Changing Federal Role, and Conflicting Priorities	309	(19)
Community Control and Decentralization	310	(1)
The Issue of Private Schools	311	(3)
Crisis in Education	314	(1)
Changing Priorities in Federal Education Policy	315	(1)
Education Policy Priorities in the Twenty-First Century	316	(4)
Unresolved Education Issues: Teachers and Curriculum	320	(3)
Unresolved Education Issues: Structural Questions	323	(2)
Issues in Higher Education	325	(3)
Summary	328	(1)
Notes	329	(3)
Resources	332	(1)
10 LEGAL AND SOCIAL EQUALITY: THE STRUGGLE AGAINST OPPRESSION AND BIGOTRY	333	(48)
Issue Background: The Idea of Equality	334	(10)
Equality under Law	334	(5)
Equality of Opportunity	339	(2)
Equality of Material Well Being	341	(2)
The Civil Rights Movement and Equality	343	(1)
Contemporary Policy: Strengthening Constitutional Guarantees of Equality	344	(17)
The Erosion of the Fourteenth Amendment	344	(1)
Ending Segregation	345	(1)
Enforcing Integration	346	(2)
The Struggle for Racial Balance in Employment and Higher Education	348	(3)
Equality and the Women s Movement	351	(6)
Bias against Homosexuals, the Handicapped, and Native Americans	357	(4)
Policy Evaluation: The Drive for Proportional Equality	361	(7)
Busing for Racial Balance	361	(2)
Retreat on Racial Preference Programs	363	(3)
Recent Assaults on Racial Preference	366	(2)
Future Alternatives: The Changing Conception of Equality	368	(9)
The Debate over Affirmative Action	368	(6)
Race and Equality	374	(3)
Summary	377	(1)
Notes	378	(2)
Resources	380	(1)
11 IMMIGRATION POLICY: THE BARELY OPEN DOOR	381	(25)
Issue Background: From an Open Door to Increasing Limits	381	(7)
The Open Door	381	(1)
Use of Quotas	382	(3)
Transition to a Preference System	385	(2)
Illegal Immigration	387	(1)
Contemporary Policy: Responding to Changing Immigration Dynamics	388	(5)
Policy Evaluation: Contrasting Perceptions	393	(5)
Current Policy Concerns	393	(1)
Economic Concerns	393	(1)
Impact on Public Services	394	(2)
Quality of Life	396	(2)
Future Alternatives: Openness or Restriction?	398	(3)
Summary	401	(1)
Notes	402	(3)
Resources	405	(1)
12 FOREIGN AND DEFENSE POLICY: SECURITY AND INTERESTS IN A DANGEROUS WORLD	406	(30)
Issue Background: Competing Approaches to Foreign Policy	407	(9)
Realism or Classical Diplomacy	407	(3)
The Balance of Power	410	(2)
The American Style in Foreign Policy: Wilsonian Idealism	412	(1)
Universal Justice and the Nuremberg Principle	413	(1)
Diplomacy, Force, and American Optimism	414	(1)
Collective Security and Institutional Solutions to World Conflict	415	(1)
Policy Past and Present: Cold War, Containment, and After	416	(3)
The Failure of Containment in Vietnam	418	(1)
The Search for a Comprehensive Peace in Palestine	419	(1)
Policy Evaluation: Realism versus Idealism in the Middle East	419	(7)
Oil, U.S. Foreign Policy, and the Middle East	420	(1)
Palestinian Nationalism	421	(3)
American Options in the Area: A Ray of Hope	424	(2)
Future Alternatives: Control of Terrorism	426	(6)
Defining Terrorism	426	(1)
Options for Confronting Terror	426	(3)
The War in Iraq and the Struggle with Terror	429	(1)
Pre-War Intelligence on WMDs and on a Connection between Iraq and Terrorism	430	(1)
Rogue Regimes and WMDs	431	(1)
Summary	432	(1)
Notes	433	(1)
Resources	434	(2)
13 PRIVATE MORALITY AND PUBLIC POLICY: FAMILY VALUES, SOCIAL ISSUES, AND THE OPEN SOCIETY	436	(44)
The Idea of the Open Society	436	(5)
The Emergence of Neo-Populism on the Right	436	(1)
The Open Society and the Tolerance of Diverse Public Ideas	437	(1)
Community and Family Values versus the Open Society	438	(2)
The Role of the Court and the Presumption of Constitutionality	440	(1)
Abortion, Birth Control, and the Law	441	(7)
The Moral Issue	446	(2)
Assisted Suicide and the Preservation of Life	448	(1)
The First Amendment and Public Morality: Suppressing Obscenity	448	(15)
Freedom of Speech	448	(3)
Protection against Insensitive Speech	451	(3)
Obscenity and the Marketplace of Ideas	454	(1)
Obscenity and the Law: The Roth Rule	454	(3)
The Conflict between Pornography and Public Morality	457	(6)
Conflict over the Role of Religion in the United States	463	(13)
The Establishment Clause	465	(8)
The Free Exercise Clause	473	(3)
Family Values and Feminism 475 Summary	476	(1)
Notes	477	(1)
Resources	478	(2)
14 THE CONTINUING POLICY DEBATES: A CONCLUSION	480	(9)
Political Actors	480	(1)
Ideology, Demography, and Policy Stalemate	481	(3)
Pluralism	484	(1)
The Limits of Public Policy	485	(1)
"Problem" and "Solution"	486	(3)
GLOSSARY	489	(8)
INDEX	497