Setting Domestic Priorities: What Can Government Do?Henry Aaron, Charles L. Schultze In recent years, workers earnings have hardly grown, violence and crime have plagued the inner cities, homelessness and public begging have become commonplace, and family life has greatly deteriorated. With governments facing large deficits and slowly growing revenues, and public distrust in the efficiency of government and elected officials at all-time highs, the authors ask, "What can government do for you?" This book brings together a prominent group of experts to answer this critical question. Edited by Henry Aaron and Charles L. Schultze, two of the nation's most noted and experienced economists, the book focuses on the crucial domestic and social issues confronting America today. Seven vital areas are discussed by the following contributors: Henry Aaron on health care; Gordon L Berlin and William McAllister on homelessness; Linda R Cohen and Roger G. Noll on research and development; John J. DiIulio, Jr., on crime; Frank Levy and Richard J. Murnane on education and training; Isabel V. Sawhill on children and families; and Clifford M. Winston and Barry P. Bosworth on infrastructure. In each problem area, the authors use the results of research and analysis to identify existing or proposed governmental interventions that are likely to work, as well as some that are likely to fail and some that need to be reformed. They then present a budget proposal that not only pays for suggested changes in domestic policy, but brings the budget into virtual balance in ten years. |
Contents
What Can Government Do? | 1 |
Health Care | 3 |
Social Policy | 4 |
Public Investment | 12 |
Paying the Bills | 16 |
Summing Up | 17 |
Health Care Financing | 23 |
Breaking the Bank | 24 |
Young Children and Families | 147 |
The Role of the Family | 151 |
The Role of Government | 164 |
Encouraging Parental Responsibility | 174 |
Conclusions | 183 |
Education and Training | 185 |
Preparing Youth for Productive Work Lives | 189 |
Improving American Education | 194 |
Access | 31 |
Reform | 35 |
Achieving Universal Coverage | 40 |
Controlling the Growth of Health Care Costs | 50 |
What Is the Solution? | 51 |
Summary and Recommendations | 60 |
Homelessness | 63 |
Becoming and Remaining Homeless | 67 |
Why Simple Solutions Sometimes Backfire | 74 |
Local Policy Constraints | 78 |
Policy Options | 83 |
Conclusion | 98 |
Crime | 101 |
What Is to Be Done? | 103 |
The Two Federal Wars on Crime | 105 |
Three Views of the First Federal War on Crime | 108 |
The Second Federal War on Crime | 110 |
Competing Views of the Second Federal War on Crime | 113 |
Drug Treatment Programs for All Prisoners | 128 |
Community Policing for All InnerCity Residents | 134 |
A National Gun BuyBack Program | 143 |
A National Program of CrimePrevention Research | 144 |
Federal Responsibility for Domestic Defense | 145 |
The Federal Role | 211 |
What A Better Trained Labor Force Can and Cannot Do | 221 |
Research and Development | 223 |
Rationale for RD Policies | 224 |
RD Priorities in the United States | 228 |
The Allure of Bigness | 240 |
New RD Institutions | 243 |
UniversitySponsored Research | 252 |
Assessing RD Policy | 262 |
Public Infrastructure | 267 |
The Public Capital Stock | 268 |
Public Infrastructure Inefficiencies | 285 |
Policy Implications | 292 |
Paying the Bills | 295 |
Magnitude and Consequences | 296 |
The Deficits Origins and What Sustains It | 297 |
Budgetary Costs of the Recommended Programs | 300 |
Economic Aspects of Financing New Programs | 301 |
How the Current Situation Restricts Choices | 303 |
A Combination of Tax Increases and Spending Cuts | 304 |
The Budgetary Results | 314 |
Conclusion | 317 |
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Setting Domestic Priorities: What Can Government Do? Henry Aaron,Charles L. Schultze Limited preview - 2010 |