Solutions to Social Problems From the Top Down The Role of Government

by Eitzen, D. Stanley; Sage, George H.

• ISBN13: 9780205468850
• ISBN10: 0205468853
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-03-17
• Publisher: Pearson

Summary

This text/reader focuses on laws and government solutions ("top-down" solutions) in the U.S that have been effective in solving problems. The readings explore specific examples of progressive legislation and social policies, and also examines historical trends and future prospects.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Time Line of Progressive Social Policies	ix
Part One The Government and Reform
Section 1 Progressive Policies: A Persistent Force for the Common Good in the United States	2	(33)
1. The Real World of Liberalism,
David Spitz	12	(8)
2. What Unites Progressives,
George Lakoff	20	(4)
3. What Was Really Great about the Great Society?,
Joseph A. Califano, Jr.	24	(8)
4. The Price of a Free Society,
Paul Starr	32	(3)
Part Two Progressive Social Policies	35	(154)
Section 2 Social Welfare: The Safety Net	36	(32)
5. The Faces of Social Security,
Heather Gain and Lisa Bennett	51	(3)
6. Social Security, the Nation's Most Effective Safety Net Program,
Fiscal Policy Institute	54	(4)
7. Faces of Medicaid,
The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured	58	(6)
8. Bigger and Better,
Jacob S. Hacker	64	(4)
Section 3 Income and Wealth Redistribution	68	(22)
9. The Death of Horatio Alger,
Paul Krugman	75	(3)
10. Tax the Plutocrats!,
Gar Alperovitz	78	(5)
11. The Consequences of Concentrated Wealth,
William H. Gates, Sr. and Chuck Collins	83	(7)
Section 4 Overcoming Institutional Racism, Sexism, and Ableism	90	(21)
12. Testimony before the Credentials Committee of the Democratic National Convention, August 22, 1964,
Fannie Lou Hamer	100	(3)
13. Roe v. Wade,
British Broadcasting Company	103	(2)
14. Federal Programs to Ameliorate the Consequences of Disability,
Vicki A. Freedman, Linda G. Martin, and Robert F. Schoeni	105	(6)
Section 5 American Education: The Struggle for Progressive Policies	111	(33)
15. Two Cheers for Brown v. Board of Education,
Claybome Carson	126	(6)
16. The Astonishing Story: Veterans Make Good on the Nation's Promise,
Keith W. Olson	132	(8)
17. Head Start/Early Head Start Program,
City of Chattanooga Human Services Department	140	(4)
Section 6 Public Spaces: Their Use for the Common Good	144	(27)
18. The Most Democratic Space in America,
Roy Rosenzeig and Elizabeth Blackmar	154	(5)
19. Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) 1933-1941,
U-S-History.Com	159	(4)
20. A Salute to the Civilian Conservation Corps at White Rock Lake Park,
Steven R. Butler	163	(6)
21. TVA's Arrival Turned Valley Around,
Howard Miller	169	(2)
Section 7 Environmental Protections	171	(18)
22. Learning from Love Canal: A Twentieth Anniversary Retrospective,
Lois Marie Gibbs	179	(4)
23. Superfund Update,
Sierra Club	183	(3)
24. The Power to Change the World: Hydrogen,
Jeremy Rifkin	186	(3)
Part Three Historical Trends and Future Prospects	189
Section 8 The Ascent of Conservatism and the Conservative Agenda	190	(27)
25. The Breaking of the American Social Compact,
Frances Fox Piven and Richard A. Cloward	196	(10)
26. Why Don't They Listen to Us? Speaking to the Working Class,
Lillian B. Rubin	206	(9)
27. The Era of Exploitation,
Bob Herbert	215	(2)
Section 9 The Role of Government in Achieving the Good Society	217
28. Imagine a Country: Life in the New Millennium,
Holly Sklar	227	(9)
29. A National Policy Vision for Children Achievable by 2010,
Children's Defense Fund	236	(1)
30. A Progressive Plan, D.
Stanley Eitzen and Maxine Baca Zinn	237	(3)
31. Whose Money Is It? A Meditation on April 15th,
John Shelby Spong	240