2.10: 1990s-Today- Contemporary Social Systems in America
- Page ID
- 211883
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)Contemporary Social Systems in America
The 1990s: George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton
The beginning of the 1990s brought about the Americans With Disabilities Act, the largest piece of social welfare legislation in American history aimed specifically at helping people with disabilities. (See Chapter 16 for more information.) Under President Clinton in the 1990s, social welfare made strides and had some setbacks as well. The move from Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) took place during this time, a move that is generally considered more conservative in nature despite Clinton being a Democrat.
"2009 Five Presidents, President George W. Bush, President Elect Barack Obama, Former Presidents George H W Bush, Bill Clinton & Jimmy Carter, Standing" by Beverly & Pack is marked with CC PDM 1.0
The 2000s: George W. Bush
President George W. Bush, son of the man who had preceded Clinton in the White House, attempted to appeal to both conservatives and liberals by advocating what he called compassionate conservatism, a philosophy that (true to Republican ideals) eschewed the idea of having too much direct involvement in people’s lives, lest they become dependent on the government; instead, the idea was to help people learn how to pull themselves out of their bad situations. Bush, like Hoover in the 1930s, believed that most of the needs of society could be addressed by private charity, opining that they were less wasteful and bureaucratic than the government in addressing these issues. What sounded like a compliment to faith-based organizations and charities also conveniently served as a rationale for refusing to expand social welfare services in favor of establishing the Department of Homeland Security and spending money on another war in Iraq.
The 2010s: Barack Obama and Donald Trump
Under President Obama, whose first term started in 2008, the most significant social welfare reform law was the Affordable Care Act (ACA), often called Obamacare (particularly by its detractors). This law will be covered further in Chapter 12, but is likely to go down in history as the signature legislation of President Obama’s tenure. It continues to be a point of contention between Democrats and Republicans in our government, as Republicans have called for votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act dozens of times in Congress, while aspects of the law continue to be rolled out to more positive reviews than negative ones. Since the passage of the ACA, 10 to 12 million more Americans have medical insurance coverage, and no one can be refused insurance coverage due to a preexisting condition (Cohn, 2014). Despite harsh opposition by Republican leaders, the ACA has nonetheless made its mark on the American healthcare industry, with many insurance companies eagerly joining the government-run exchanges. While President Donald Trump promised Obamacare would be repealed and replaced under his administration, this never occurred.
"Health, Doctor and Legal Issues" by weiss_paarz_photos is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
President Trump attempted at times to slash funding for many assistance programs and bragged in his campaign rallies that he had succeeded in doing so; however, some of those cuts were rejected by legislators or courts, particularly as need increased during the covid-19 pandemic (Hsu, 2020).
The future direction of social welfare policy is inevitably going to be tied to the political process and the balance of power between Democrats and Republicans at the highest levels of our government. If anything is certain, it’s that public opinions will shift and many of us will likely think differently of many of our current laws down the line. New policies will continue to be proposed and developed, and social workers hope to have significant influence in that process through lobbying and educational efforts.
Attribution: Social Work & Social Welfare: Modern Practice in a Diverse World. (opens in new window) Mick Cullen & Matthew Cullen.