TABLE 2-5 State Votes on Selected Propositions in the 2000s Outcom Taxes Create property tax exemption for disabled veterans and surviving Pass TA Oklahoma (2004) O spouses Tax commercial passenger ships visiting the state Prohibit tax deduction of wages paid to illegal aliens Property tax exemption for conservation property Pass Pass Pass Alaska (2006) Colorado (2006) Florida (2008) Massachusetts (2008) Georgia (2010) AL Go M M W Fail Fail Repeal state income tax New fee on car tags for new trauma trust fund Civil Rights Pass Pass S Nevada (2000) Arizona (2004) Michigan (2006) Rhode Island (2006) California (2008) Arizona (2010) Prohibit same-sex marriages Require proof of citizenship to register to vote; require state agencies to check the immigration status of program beneficiaries Prohibit racial preferences/affirmative action Allow felons to vote after leaving prison Define marriage as solely between one man and one woman Bar preferential treatment in public employment, education, and contracting Pass Pass Pass Pass di th W Drugs a t a Colorado (2000) Alaska (2004) Pass Fail F Arizona (2006) Massachusetts (2008) Michigan (2008) California (2010) Allow marijuana for medicinal purposes Legalize persons age 21 or older to grow, sell, use, or give away marijuana Limit probation for methamphetamine convicts Decriminalize the possession of marijuana Allow medical use of marijuana Legalize and tax possession of marijuana Pass Pass Pass Fail Education California (2000) Michigan (2000) South Dakota (2004) Fail Fail Fail Ohio (2006) Arkansas (2008) Oregon (2008) Establish school voucher system Establish school voucher system Allow state to provide food and transportation funding for children who attend religious schools Allow slot machines; dedicate revenue for college scholarships Authorize state lottery with money dedicated to education Require teacher compensation to be based on classroom performance Pass Pass Fail Abortion Colorado (2000) Florida (2004) Fail Pass Oregon (2006) South Dakota (2008) Colorado (2008) Require waiting period for abortions Authorize legislature to pass a law requiring parental notification when teens seek an abortion Waiting period and parental notification for abortion by minor Prohibit abortion except in case of rape, health of mother Defines a "person to be any human being from moment of fertilization Fail Fail up CLOSE Arizona Passes Its Own Immigration Law WE JUST WANT TO WORK rustrated by the failure of the federal govern- ment to enforce existing immigration laws, Ari- zona passed its own law in 2010. The Arizona law mirrors federal law dealing with aliens, requiring them to carry valid immigration documents. It makes it a state crime to be in the country illegally. Police are given broad powers to detain anyone suspected of being an illegal alien. STICIA PARA LOS TRABALA.Com SAVE CEERS NOW ABOUE WHAT Justice & Dignity UT FUL RIALTIC llegal immigrants say they are in the U.S. to work, not to get free services. NO AMNESTY GO USA? GO US. LAW. 30 HOME! > identified as illegal immigrants, persons can be taken into custody, prosecuted for violating Arizona law, or turned over to federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for deportation. President Barack Obama called the Arizona law "misguided” and said it “threatens to undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans, as well as the trust between police and our communi- ties that is so crucial to keeping us safe. Constitutional challenges to the law center pri- marily on two questions. First, do federal immigration laws preempt a state law on the topic, as provided Citizens opposed to giving amnesty to illegal by the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution? immigrants currently in the U.S. complain Though carefully written to avoid preemption, the that “illegals” receive services like health care Arizona law may be found to conflict with federal for free while they do not. laws. Second, does the Arizona law pose a threat to the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause The key provision of the Arizona law seas: by encouraging racial profiling in its enforcement? “For any lawful contact made by a law enforcement Federal courts may find that it does, despite the law's officer where reasonable suspicion exists that a wording prohibiting racial profiling. person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the The Arizona law unleashed immediate protests United States, a reasonable attempt shall be made and reignited the battle over immigration reform when practicable to determine the immigration status nationally. Hispanic and civil rights groups strongly of the person. ... ” A “lawful contact” presumably oppose the measure. But overall public opinior means that a police officer has stopped an individual appears to support it: “Based on what you have heard for violating another law, most likely a traffic stop. or read, do you approve or disapprove of Arizona “Reasonable suspicion” may involve a combination new immigration law?” Approve 51%, disapprov of circumstances, but the law specifically prohibits 31%, unsure 18%.a officers from using race or ethnicity as determining factors. The law also states that if a person produces a Polling Report, www.pollingreport.com, citing a Qui a state driver's license or other state-issued identifi- nipiac University Poll, May 2010, N = 1,914 register cation, he or she is presumed to be here legally. Once voters nationwide. Politics in States and Communities what a S uppor succes exod nation's a below). The ents in th to about number in the philosophy of “devolution of responsibility to the states. TANF is essentially a federal block grant program that allo- cates lump sums to the states for cash welfare payments. Benefits and eligibility requirements for cash assistance are now largely decided by the states. How- ever, conservatives in Congress imposed some tough-minded "strings to this federal aid, including a two-year limit on continuing cash benefits and a five-year lifetime limit; a “fam- ily cap” that denies additional A New Beginning cash benefits to women already on welfare who bear more chil- Welfare to Work dren; and the denial of cash welfare to unwed parents under form was a bipartisan effort. A Republican Congress passed the legislation eighteen years of age unless they crat President Bill Clinton signed it into law in 1996. live with an adult and attend school. Liberals in Congress obtained some modifications to the welfare reform act: exemptions from time lim- its and work requirements for some portion of welfare recipients, and community service alternatives to work requirements. (See “What Do You Think? Is Welfare Reform a Success?") than 2 pc receiving proporti Vir develop fare rec fare be require grams, and ta service Y agrees rolls a goala cles to First recip disal ing d Cash HEALTH CARE Good health correlates best with factors over which doctors and hospitals have no direct control: heredity, lifestyle (smoking, eating, drinking, exercise, stress), and the physical environment. Historically, most of the reductions in death rates have resulted from public health and sanitation improvements, including immunization against smallpox, clean public water supplies, sanitary sewage disposal, and increased stand- ards of living. Many of the leading causes of death today, including heart disease, stroke, cirrhosis of the liver, AIDS, accidents, and suicides, are closely linked to per- sonal habits and lifestyles. Over 65 percent of the nation's population is overweight or obese. Thus, for many, the greatest contribution to better health is likely to be found in altered personal habits and lifestyles, rather than in more medical care. ! Community Public Health and Hospitals Public health and sanitation are among the oldest functions of local government. Keeping clean is still one of the major tasks of cities today, a task that includes street cleaning, sewage disposal, garbage collection, and the provision of a clean water sup- ply. Often these services are taken for granted in the United States, but in many underdeveloped countries of the world, health and sanitation are still major concerns. CHAPTER 17 Is Welfare Reform a Success? felow). s in the nation has now dropped What do VOU think? success. Their claim is based primarily on the upporters of welfare reform have declared it a nation's welfare rolls (see the figure exodus of over eight million people from the The number of welfare recipi- about four million—the lowest number in more than forty years. Less than 2 percent of Americans are now merving cash welfare—the smallest Virtually all states have now developed work programs for wel- fare recipients. Applicants for wel- required to enter job-search pro- grams, to undertake job training, and to accept jobs or community 10 proportion since 1970. fare benefits are now generally problems—that prevent them from holding a full-time job. Many long-term recipients have no work experi- ence at all, and two-thirds of them did not graduate from high school. Almost half have three or more children, making day- care arrangements a major obstacle. It is unlikely that any counseling, education, job training, or job place- ment programs could ever succeed in getting these people into produc- tive employment. Early studies of people who left the welfare rolls following welfare reform suggest that over half and perhaps as many as three-quarters have found work, although most minimum near-minimum wages." As projected, the early dra- matic reductions in welfare case loads (see figure) began to level off after 2000. There are probably four This mother of six and one grand- to five million people who have so many physical, psychological, and child from Washington, DC, spent ten years on public assistance social problems that it is simply impossible for them to work. while she raised her children. She then enrolled in a welfare-to-work prograin with the Plumbers Union Local and began a job earning aGoverning (April 1999): 21-26. nearly $13 per hour. at or service positions. Yet , although nearly everyone agrees that getting people off welfare rolls and onto payrolls is the main goal of reform, there are major obsta- dles to the achievement of this goal First of all, many long-term welfare recipients have obstacles-physical disabilities, chronic illnesses, lean- ing disabilities, alcohol or drug abuse Is Welfare Reform a Success? 16 14 12 10 Atillions of Persons Receiving Cash Assistance 1 6 L 4 1 0 8 6 4 8 6 2 1998 1999 2000 1999 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 0 1996 1997 1993 1994 1995 Vertical line reflects year that federal Welfare Reform Act was passed. ce: US Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2010, p. 356. insurance or Medicare covera impoverish themsel forced to 100 days of nursing home a Local public health departments are directly concerned with the prevention of disease. They engage in vaccination and immunization, as well as regulatory activ- ity and the safeguarding of water supplies. In addition to the preventive activities of public health departments, state and local governments also provide extensive, tax-supported hospital care. State and local governments provide both general and specialized hospitals, health centers, and nursing homes and often subsidize private hospitals and medical facilities as well. New York City operates the nation's largest city hospital system, but almost every community subsidizes hospital facilities in some way. City and county hospi- tals and heavily subsidized private hospitals are expected to provide free emergency care to indigent patients. Thus, when revenue shortfalls hit local governments, the impact can be quite negative for governments, hospitals, doctors who may not get to qualify for Medicaid. (Me for only sixty days of hospi- over, as the number and pr the very old in society rise years and over comprise fastest-growing age group for long-term nursing home Medicaid is the only progra ers nursing home care, but people must first “spend savings or transfer their wea reimbursed, and the poor. in order to qualify for Medic home care is now the single in Medicaid spending. се Medicare The federal government added Medicare to the Social Security program in 1965. Medicare provides for prepaid hospital insurance for the aged and low-cost voluntary medical insurance for the aged under federal administration. Medicare includes (1) a compulsory basic health insurance plan covering hospital costs for the aged, which is financed through payroll taxes collected under the Social Security system; and (2) a voluntary but supplemental medical program that will pay doctors' bills and addi- tional medical expenses, financed in part by contributions from the aged and in part by the general tax revenues. Only persons sixty-five and over are covered by Medicare. Medicaid SCHIP Under the State Children's ance Program (SCHIP) the extend health insurance to icaid. The program is gene 200 percent of the poverty limits and each state has fle may expand reir Medicaid child health programs. The federal government also provides funds under Medicaid to enable states to guarantee medical services to the poor. Each state operates its own Micdicaid program. Unlike Medicare, Medicaid is a welfare program designed for needy persons; no prior contributions are required, and recipients of Medicaid services are generally welfare recipients. States can extend coverage to other medically needy persons if they choose to do so. Medicaid pays virtually all health care costs including nursing home care. STIMULUS TO HE , Traditionally, health care r costs and expanding access Americans who were curre increases in costs, even while health care costs. INN Medicaid in the States Medicaid is the costliest of all public assistance programs. States must pay about 45 percent of Medicaid's costs, with the federal government paying the remain- der. Medicaid is the most rapidly growing item in the budget of most states. Approximately 86 perce by either private health insu S Medicaid is increasingly becoming the last resort for people who have no medical insurance and for those whose health insurance, including about 14 percent of the pop ries, young people eighteen Most of the uninsured wer were neither poor enough Medicare. These people mig denied medical care except program that requires states to provide regardless of their age. long-term ill- People con- insurance does not cover ness or nursing home care. People fronted with serious or "catastrophic illnesses that might be ohli
Purchase answer to see full attachment