social work
November 22, 2022
Essayheroes
- Richard Nixon used the term “the silent majority of law-abiding citizens” to describe white people who rebelled against civil rights. How does this compare to the Donald Trump presidential campaign and election of 2016? What are similarities and differences to the plights of vulnerable groups in 2016 compared to those in the 1970s? What messages did Nixon give conservative voters that were echoed by Trump? What were similar and different responses of liberals, social reformers, and vulnerable populations of the 1972 election compared to the 2016 election? (300 words)
- How did Reagan’s policies reinforce the views and stereotypes that many white American had about social programs and the welfare state? What did the Reagan administration do to promote those stereotypes and beliefs? What stopped Democrats from being able to refute these stereotypes? What beliefs and stereotypes from this era still exist today? (300 words)
- The welfare reform portion of the Contract with America included the following provisions:
- Denial of welfare to mothers under age 18
- Denial of higher payments to mothers who give birth to additional children while on welfare
- A strict 2-year-and-out provision for recipients
- More stringent work requirements, to promote individual responsibility
- A cap on spending for AFDC, SSI, and public housing programs
- Consolidation of nutrition programs such as Food Stamps, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and the school lunch program into a block grant to states
- Permission for states to opt out of the current AFDC program by converting their share of AFDC payments into fixed annual block grants
- What ethical dilemmas can you imagine could occur given these parameters? How could these parameters impact the children of these adult recipients? How might the children’s experiences with these benefits possibly lead to their future needs (as teens then adults then possibly parents)? (300 words)
- What long-term outcomes did the U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan have on the current pulse of the Middle East? How is the current administration healing, staying neutral, or antagonizing this pulse? (300 words)
- What conflicts, political differences, philosophies, and ethical dilemmas come into play as people talk about the ACA and America’s health care needs? What is different or similar about those discussions today compared to when they were first raised during the Obama administration? Who benefits and loses from changes to health care? (300 words)
