This reader focuses on laws and government solutions in the United States that have been effective in solving problems. A collection of 9 sections with a total of 31 readings takes the reader through issues relating to government and reform, progressive social problems, historical trends, and future prospects. Each section has 3 or 4 readings to provide a full understanding of issues and problems.
This text/reader focuses on laws and government solutions (“top-down” solutions) in the U.S that have been effective in solving problems. The readings explore specific examples of progressive legislation and social policies, and also examines historical trends and future prospects.
This text/reader focuses on laws and government solutions ("top-down" solutions) in the U.S that have been effective in solving problems. The readings explore specific examples of progressive legislation and social policies, and also examines historical trends and future prospects.
Preface
Part I THE GOVERNMENT AND REFORM
Section 1 Progressivism: A Persistent Force for the Common Good in the United States
1. David Spitz, “The Real World of Liberalism”
2. George Lakoff, “Don’t Think Like an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate”
3. Joseph A. Califano, Jr., “What Was Really Great About the Great Society”
4. Paul Starr, “The Price of a Free Society”
Part II PROGRESSIVE SOCIAL POLICIES
Section 2 Social Welfare: The Safety Net
5. Heather Gain and Lisa Bennett, “The Faces of Social Security”
6. Fiscal Policy Institute, “Social Security, the Nation’s Most Effective Safety Net Program, Keeps More Than 800,000 New Yorkers Out of Poverty”
7. The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, “Faces of Medicaid”
8. Jacob S. Hacker, “Bigger and Better”
Section 3 Income and Wealth Redistribution
9. Paul Krugman, “The Death of Horatio Alger.”
10. Gar Alperovitz, “Tax the Plutocrats!”
11. William H. Gates, Sr. and Chuck Collins, “The Consequences of Concentrated Wealth”
Section 4 Overcoming Institutional Racism, Sexism, and Ableism
12. Fannie Lou Hamer, “Testimony Before the Credentials Committee of the Democratic National Convention, August 22, 1964”
13. British Broadcasting Company, “Roe v. Wade”
14. Vicki A. Freedman, Linda G. Martin, and Robert F. Schoeni, “Federal Programs to Ameliorate the Consequences of Disability
Section 5 American Education: The Struggle for Progressive Policies
15. Clayborne Carson, “Two Cheers for Brown v. Board of Education
16. Keith Olson, “The Astonishing Story: Veterans Make Good on the Nation’s Promise”
17. City of Chattanooga Human Services Department, “Head Start/Early Head Start Program”
Section 6 Public Spaces: Their Use for the Common Good
18. Roy Rosenzeig and Elizabeth Blackmar, “The Most Democratic Space in America”
19. U-S History.Com, “Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) 1933-1941"
20. “A Salute to the Civilian Conservation Corps at White Rock Lake Park”
21. Howard Miller, “TVA’s Arrival Turned the Valley Around”
Section 7 Environmental Protections
22. Lois Marie Gibbs, “Learning from Love Canal: A 20th Anniversary Retrospective.”
23. Sierra Club, “Superfund Update
24. Jeremy Rifkin, “The Power to Change the World: Hydrogen”
`Part III HISTORICAL TRENDS AND FUTURE PROSPECTS
Section 8 The Ascent of Conservatism and the Conservative Agenda
25. Frances Fox Piven and Richard A. Cloward, “The Breaking of the American Social Compact”
26. Lillian B. Rubin, “Why Don’t They Listen to Us?
27. Bob Herbert, “The Era of Exploitation”
Section 9 The Role of Government in Achieving the Good Society
28. Holly Sklar, “Imagine a Country: Life in the New Millenium”
29. Children’s Defense Fund, “A National Policy Vision for Children Achievable by 2010”
30. D. Stanley Eitzen and Maxine Baca Zinn, “A Progressive Plan”
31. John Shelby Spong, “Whose Money Is It? A Meditation on April 15th”