Social policy in the United States : future possibilities in historical perspective
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Bibliographic Information
Social policy in the United States : future possibilities in historical perspective
（Princeton studies in American politics : historical, international, and comparative perspectives）
Princeton University Press, c1995
- : pbk
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Note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Description and Table of Contents
- Volume
-
: pbk ISBN 9780691037851
Description
Health care, welfare, Social Security, employment programs--all are part of ongoing national debates about the future of social policy in the United States. In this wide-ranging collection of essays, Theda Skocpol shows how historical understanding, centered on governmental institutions and political alliances, can illuminate the limits and possibilities of American social policymaking both past and present. Skocpol dispels the myth that Americans are inherently hostile to social spending and suggests why President Clinton's health care agenda was so quickly attacked despite the support of most Americans for his goals.
Table of Contents
AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: American Social Policies: Future Possibilities in Historical Perspective3Ch. 1State Formation and Social Policy in the United States11Ch. 2America's First Social Security System: The Expansion of Benefits for Civil War Veterans37Ch. 3Gender and the Origins of Modern Social Policies in Britain and the United States72Ch. 4The Road to Social Security136Ch. 5Redefining the New Deal: World War II and the Development of Social Provision in the United States167Ch. 6The Limits of the New Deal System and the Roots of Contemporary Welfare Dilemmas209Ch. 7"Brother Can You Spare a Job?" Work and Welfare in the United States228Ch. 8Targeting within Universalism: Politically Viable Policies to Combat Poverty in the United States250Ch. 9Is the Time Finally Ripe? Health Insurance Reforms in the 1990s275Ch. 10From Social Security to Health Security?293Conclusion: Remaking U.S. Social Policies for the 21st Century297Index313
- Volume
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ISBN 9780691037868
Description
Reforming health care, revamping the welfare system, preserving or cutting Social Security, creating employment programmes for displaced employees, and revising US social programmes to help working parents with children - all of these endeavours and more are part of ongoing national debates about the future of social policy in the United States. In this wide-ranging collection of essays, social scientist Theda Skocpol shows how historical understanding, centred on US governmental institutions and shifting political alliances, can illuminate the limits and possibilities of American social policy-making, both past and present. The author dispels the myth that Americans are inherently hostile to governmental social spending. When universal social programmes jointly benefit the middle class and the poor, she shows, Americans since the 19th century have been willing to pay taxes for them and happy to partake of the security they provide. Insights from the past also illuminate why ideological attacks against "bureaucratic meddling" by the federal government repeatedly prove so potent in US politics.
Skocpol suggests why President Clinton's proposals for comprehensive health care reforms were so quickly attacked, even though Americans agree that the health financing system is in crisis and support universal insurance coverage.
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