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Standard and Short Edition:
1 American Political Culture
2 The Founding and the Constitution
3 Federalism
4 Civil Liberties
5 Civil Rights
6 Public Opinion
7 The Media
8 Political Participation and Voting
9 Political Parties
10 Campaigns and Elections
11 Groups and Interests
12 Congress
13 The Presidency
14 Bureaucracy In A Democracy
15 The Federal Courts
16 Government and Economy
17 Social Policy
18 Foreign Policy and Democracy
Texas Edition:
19 The Political Culture, People, and Economy of Texas
20 The Texas Constitution
21 Parties and Elections in Texas
22 Interest Groups, Lobbying, and Lobbyists
23 The Texas Legislature
24 The Texas Executive Branch
25 The Texas Judiciary
26 Local Government in Texas
27 Public Policy in Texas

Chapter 17: Social Policy

Questions for Discussion and Thought

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  1. Do you have health insurance? If so, how much do you pay each month? Are you satisfied with your coverage? There are 45 million Americans without any health insurance. Do you think access to health care ought to be a basic right? If so, how would you guarantee it?

  1. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said, “It doesn’t say anywhere in the Declaration of Independence . . . that anyone is entitled to anything except the right to pursue happiness.” Do you agree? Are there no inherent rights for people? Do children deserve any special consideration?

  1. Generally, liberals believe that people are poor because of circumstances beyond their control (economics, health, society, family background), while conservatives believe people are poor because of their own individual failures (laziness, lack of character). What do you believe? What steps would you propose to reduce poverty, on the basis of what you think causes it?

  1. Should Social Security be privatized? Would you support a partial privatization? How would you go about investing your private share for your retirement? What is the drawback of letting individuals bear all the risk in their retirement? Is this a safe plan for the future of Social Security?

  1. We often say that education is the key to improving one’s chances in life, but is our educational system really equal? Compare, for example, schools in different states where you or your friends have lived. Then compare schools in the suburbs with schools in the inner cities. Why is there such a variation? Only about one-third of all high school math and science teachers majored in math or science in college. Where do you think those one-third teach? Who is teaching math and science in the other schools? What does that say about equal educational opportunities? Would you support a voucher system that would allow students to go to any school they wanted to?



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