LATE 20th CENTURY SOCIO-POLITICAL EVENTS, REFORMS, AND LINKS

    This document is a descriptive guide and glossary of terms for modern (1960-2003) attempts at reforming programs and processes of the American political and economic system with special emphasis upon events and ideas that have shaped the American sense of justice and rights. The topic of welfare is given extensive treatment, and links are provided to a wide variety of informative resources, including many of the nation's public interest groups. Criminal justice reform is only a small part of governmental reform, but the former needs to be seen in the wider context of all human service delivery systems. Other sites: {Political Science Guide to the Internet}{Criminal Justice Thinktanks}

    My wish list for government reform would go as follows:  (1) government should be faster, there should be no holdups because they are choking on data, nor lack of interagency action because memorandums of understanding need to be drawn up; (2) government should be highly productive, and a good benchmark would be the capability to do 60% more with 20% less; (3) government should be smarter and cleverer, attracting the best and brightest to public service, but always listening to the little guy; (4) government should expedite industry and commerce, ensuring the fastest possible start-ups for new ideas and the quickest recovery from crashes and bankruptcies; (5) government should be more trusting and sharing, as there are only a few genuine needs for secrecy, no need for civil rights abuses, and that attitude that they are better than anybody else has got to go; (6) government should be proactive and futuristic, utilizing the latest technology; (7) government should embrace hegemony, and seek standardized yet fair ways of dealing with the international media and global concerns; (8) government should be robust, constantly expanding, and seeking new laws and rules of evidence.

ABSCAM -- In 1979, the FBI rented a house in Washington, D.C. and posed as wealthy Middle Eastern businessmen and lured several members of Congress there and filmed them taking money in return for political favors. Seven legislators were caught up in the sting; four went to prison, one resigned, one was defeated in election, and one was the first to be expelled from Congress since the Civil War. The sting served as a model for similar operations at the state and local levels throughout the 1980s, including the Mayor Marion Berry bust.
ADMINISTRATIVE REORGANIZATION -- Every president since Lyndon Johnson has proposed major reorganization of their cabinet and/or addition/elimination of agencies. Johnson created Transportation, Education, and HEW; Nixon created OMB, Carter created OPM and Energy, and Reagan proposed eliminating Education. Governors usually follow suit in reorganizing their cabinets, but only 22 states grant the governor the power of reorganization, severely limiting reform possibilities in most states.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION -- A concept mentioned in the 1964 and 1991 Civil Rights Acts which contends that "proactive" policies, like quota systems, are needed to ensure employment and education for minorities and women in response to the "vestiges" of past and present discrimination. Counterreforms occured in the 1990s, such as California's 1995 rollback of affirmative action in education.
AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) -- Once, the nation's largest (over 36 million mothers) welfare program (jointly funded 50-50 by national and state governments regardless of cost), created by the Social Security Act of 1935 and known then as ADC (Aid to Dependent Children). Now, what's left is ACF (Adm. for Children and Families) and TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families). Originally intended to provide support to children whose fathers had died, but the largest number of recipients in recent years have been divorced and never-married women (out-of-wedlock children). Counterreforms in 1994 (Contract with America) produced workfare (must work to receive benefits), phase-outs (limitation on number of years to receive benefits), and denials (children born while already receiving benefits are not eligible). Families with children under age 18 who are deprived of support from one or both parents are eligible. "Deprivation" means death, desertion, divorce, incarceration, deportation, only one legal parent or continued absence of one parent. Some states allow payment to pregnant women and two-parent families (under AFDC-UP, Unemployed Parent), and most states have AFDC-EA (Emergency Assistance) which pays rent or provides in-kind shelter. AFDC pays cash benefits (about $375 a month) and also carries Medicaid and food stamps. The states are also able to seek waivers (AFDC waivers) of federal rules, allowing the carrying out of a "pilot" or demonstration project that loosens or tightens AFDC eligibility requirements.
ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) -- A late 1980s procedure to settle legal disputes (mostly civil cases) without going through formal court proceedings, the most popular form of which is mediation, in which a third-party acts as intermediary to help find a solution, but does not have power to create a solution. Arbitration, another form in which the third party does have power to create a solution, has been incorporated into the statutes of at least half the states while mediation exists mainly as a voluntary option.
AGRICULTURE SPENDING LIMITS -- Various arms of the Department of Agriculture, like the Credit Insurance Fund, have been big spenders and have a complicated fiscal administration structure; and every year, there are thousands of delinquent, emergency-disaster loans to farmers which are just compounded by the refinancing of delinquent borrowers.
AMATEUR POLITICIANS -- A recurring idea that those with NO previous political experience would make better officeholders than professional politicians. Origins: unknown. Popular among academics.
ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) -- Founded in 1920 to expand the freedoms guaranteed in the Bill of Rights; involved in lobbying for censorship, education, national security, voting, corrections issues.
AEI (American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research) -- A conservative think-tank, founded in 1943 to preserve the free enterprise system, limited government, a strong defense, and traditional values; involved in book publication, public education, and "Election Watch" coverage of candidates.
ALFRED P. MURRAH FEDERAL BUILDING BOMBING -- A 1995 event in which 168 people were killed, including 19 children; suspected "John Doe" terrorists turned out to be Tim McVeigh and Terry Nichols; drew attention to dangers of domestic terrorism.
AMERICAN INDIAN GAMBLING -- The 1987 Supreme Court case (California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians) giving Indian tribes the right to operate tax free/regulation free casinos on their reservations is the most recent government effort to help resolve Indian problems. The 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act reestablished state regulation, but also provided for the right of tribes not having casinos to sue states that try to block development of gaming operations. No counterreforms, but considerable criticism from citizens.
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT -- A sweeping 1990 piece of legislation that requires special accommodations be made for anyone with physical or mental disabilities; applies to all employers and any establishment receiving public funds.
ANNEXATION -- A legal action by which governments (usually cities) expand their physical boundaries by absorbing adjacent land; seen as a solution to many inner-city problems and a way to revitalize downtowns by expanding central city influence and appearing more adept at servicing needs of less complex suburbs.
BACKDOOR SPENDING RESTRICTIONS -- Backdoor spending goes outside the regular appropriations oversight process by allowing government agencies to borrow money to provide for contractual services, and also applies to "untouchable" entitlement spending authorized by law. Various "pay-as-you-go" budget reforms since 1990 have attempted to restrict this major source of debt and tax increase.
BAKKE DECISION -- The 1978 case of Regents of the University of California v. Bakke in which Alan Bakke, a white male was twice denied admission to the University Medical School even though his admission scores were higher than those of minority students who were accepted into the program. Brought public attention to the problem with racial quota systems.
BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT -- Since the early 1980s, this reform proposal to amend the Constitution has been made repeatedly each year since 48 of the states have it but the federal government does not. Last defeated in 1996 by two votes short of a two-thirds majority, critics argue that it would seriously jeopardize government's ability to respond to crises in crime, homelessness, poverty, and drug abuse. The Balanced Budge Act of 1997 significantly changed the shape of Medicare and Medicaid.
BIG SWAP -- A Reagan 1982 proposal to allow states full control of AFDC and food stamps in exchange for federal control of Medicaid; met with considerable resistance from governors.
BLOCK GRANTS -- Grants which provide federal "no-strings attached" money to state and local governments for use in job training, mental health, crime control, and transportation projects and are seen as a way to give local agencies more power and flexibility. Over 15 block grant programs exist as of 1998, but are minuscule compared to the number of "strings-attached" categorical grants.
BRIDEFARE -- A type of welfare reform in which unmarried recipients are required to become married in order to continue receiving benefits.
BROOKINGS INSTITUTION -- a research group that publishes public policy reform treatises.
BUDGET DEFICIT -- Every year since 1969, America has spent more money than it has brought in, compounded in 1982 by Reagan defense spending ($200 billion), the 1991 Savings & Loan bailout ($61 billion), and the 1992 Persian Gulf war ($115 billion). "Untouchable" entitlement programs (Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security) make up two-thirds of the federal budget, and these programs have an inflation rate of about 16% a year. Interest on the National Debt runs at about 15% a year. Recurring deficits force more money to go towards interest payments, and with the government having to borrow money to pay off debt, less is available to address social problems. "Zero Freedoms" is the term used to describe what U.S. citizens will have in the year 2000 if government debt totals $13 trillion -- $169,000 per taxpayer.
BUDGET ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 1990 -- The first effort to control entitlement spending (except Social Security which is protected) by requiring cuts in Medicare/Medicaid if Congress decides to create a new entitlement program or approves a new tax break without raising other sources of revenue; incorporates the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act which requires across-the-board cuts if the deficit reaches certain limits.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM -- Since 1971 and the Watergate scandal, the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), which has been revised repeatedly, remains the nation's sole regulation regarding campaign financing, requiring disclosure statements (of any receipts over $5000 and any expenses over $200) and public funding of presidential campaigns. Also allows political action committees (PACs) to spend unlimited amounts of money "independently" from funds spent by their candidates and political parties to spend unlimited amounts of "soft money" for party-building activities. Lobbyists also use "bundling" to get around the $5000 limit by contributing numerous $4999 donations under individual names. Various reforms have been proposed since 1971, but Congress has to date passed none, and there are distinctive patterns in the nation's top campaign contributors.
CATO INSTITUTE -- Founded in 1977 to promote traditional American principles of limited government, individual liberty, and peace; influential in establishing the policy of trickle-down economics (Reaganomics).
CENTER FOR LAW AND SOCIAL POLICY -- Public interest organization focusing upon the economic condition of low-income families with children.
CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEGRITY -- Founded in 1989, a watchdog group to promote ethical behavior in government by providing support for in-depth investigations to leading journalists.
CENTER ON BUDGET AND POLICY PRIORITIES -- Issues reports on policy initiatives affecting poor Americans, poverty among women, and the safety net of programs helping the poor.
CENTER ON SOCIAL WELFARE POLICY AND LAW -- Conducts technical analysis of the regulatory mechanisms in place for income maintenance and benefits programs.
CHILD CARE SUBSIDIES -- Programs (or more accurately, lack of programs) that subsidize (pay for) the costs of transitional child care for AFDC mothers and/or poor working people so that they can look for or go to work and get off welfare faster. Recognized as a serious problem in 1988, the existence of such programs are somewhat rare and vary dramatically from state to state.
CHILDREN'S DEFENSE FUND -- A group that monitors policy and attempts to educate government officials about the needs of poor and minority children, including such issues as teen pregnancy, mental health, and youth employment.
CHRISTIAN COALITION -- Conservative organization founded in 1989 to fight back against the liberalization of American culture; closely affiliated with televangelist Pat Robertson, the group scrutinizes textbooks used in schools and closely monitors educational programs like sex education and social studies.
CITIZENS FOR TAX JUSTICE -- A coalition of labor unions and other groups, founded in 1979, that promotes fairer tax policies for working people and the poor, fighting tax breaks that favor the rich.
CITY COMMISSION -- A form of local government that is on the verge of disappearing where the city is run by the heads of major departments who are elected by voters.
CIVIL JUSTICE REFORM -- A variety of reforms including court consolidation, court administration, but most centering on types of Alternative Dispute Resolution.
CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964 -- The nation's most important law protecting civil rights; also brought African-Americans greater access to restaurants, motels, theaters, and other accommodations (Title II); desegregated schools (Title III); and created the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) (Title VII).
CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1991 -- Designed to reverse a series of Supreme Court decisions in the 1980s that weakened Affirmative Action by requiring plaintiff in a discrimination suit to carry the burden of proof; passage was helped by public outcry over sexual harassment hearings involving Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas.
CIVIL RIGHTS LOBBY -- The term is used to refer to the 185 different civil rights interest groups in America that form a loose coalition; major groups include the NAACP, League of Women Voters, and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT -- Refers to a time period from 1954 (Brown v. Board of Education) to 1968 (Fair Housing Act) when a visible segment of the American population became more radicalized and began to experiment with militant tactics to seek more dramatic reforms. Numerous splits developed between and within civil rights groups regarding draft resistance, student protest, black militancy, and drug policy, but all groups cohered around the common theme of promoting equal and full participation in U.S. society.
CIVIL SERVICE REFORM -- Federal workers accrue an enormous amount of vacation and eligibility for time off (almost as if to cover up for the absenteeism rate). Benefits accrue as soon as they start the job, and bringing personnel policies more in line with the private sector could save money. One notorious practice, called Reduction in Force (RIF) provided thousands of federal employees with higher pay than their salary grades deserved, due to an RIF procedure allowing them to keep their previous salaries for two years if they are reduced to a lower-level position. Also, about 6% of federal employees a year file on-the-job injury claims, including psychological disabilities, which is amazing given the high level of health care benefits.
CIVIL SERVICE REFORM ACT OF 1978 -- A Carter administration accomplishment that created a Senior Executive Service where top-level bureaucrats would receive performance pay and a Merit System where the junior grades would receive more frequent job evaluations and step raises based on efficiency assessments.
CLINTON-LEWINSKY SCANDAL -- 1997-Ongoing investigation into reported affair President Clinton had with White House intern, Monica Lewinsky.
COMMON CAUSE -- Founded in 1970 to advocate open and accountable government, this watchdog group has been involved in campaign finance reform, nuclear arms control, defense spending, and taxation.
CONCURRENT BUDGET RESOLUTIONS -- Started in 1982, these documents, which do not have the force of law (because they are concurrent resolution) are drawn up by a joint Budget Committee and contain binding spending and tax limits that the other committees have to abide by in their appropriations hearings.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST LAWS -- Group of reforms since the early 1960s that established fairly complicated rules on financial holdings that might create conflicts of interest, introduced financial disclosure reports, placed restrictions on gifts and honoraria, and established rules regulating employment (revolving door) after government service.
CONSOLIDATION -- The merger of two or more cities into one larger city or the merger of a county and all its cities into one governmental entity. Seen as a way to address inner-city problems and produce one, larger centralized problem-solver.
CONSUMPTION TAX -- Seen as the most feasible alternative to the current income tax system because it would not require much alteration in reporting requirements. It works by not taxing any income used for savings or investment, but only income used for consumption. Similar to state sales taxes, the most common consumption tax in America. Supporters say it would boost the economy; critics say it's a tax haven for the rich.
CONTRACTING FOR SERVICES -- Also referred to as the Lakewood Plan, this approach is used by local governments to contract with one another for provision of services, such as police protection.
CONTRACTING OUT -- The government's hiring of private companies to provide public services, from trash pickup to prison management. One of the inefficiencies of government is that it tries to do everything, food service, maintenance, laundry, fire fighting, etc., and these functions consume major portions of agency budgets. Contracting out can save billions a year.
CORPORATE INCOME TAX -- The nation's third largest source of income, behind personal income and social security taxes. Corporate income taxes are also used in 46 states, though states rely far more heavily on sales and personal income taxes. This revenue source has been dropping since 1980 due to repeated tax cuts and generous depreciation allowances designed to lure business into the U.S. or a particular state.
COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENTS (COLAs) -- Military and civil service retirement plans are fully indexed to the consumer price index, a benefit virtually unheard of in the private sector. As a result, federal employees could earn more from just their pension than an equally graded employee could earn in salary.
COUNCIL-MANAGER -- The most popular form of city government in the U.S. where formal power resides with a council, but the day-to-day operations (budget, policy, hiring-firing) are left to a manager. Some systems also have a mayor, but this person usually has no more power than any other council member. Designed to reduce corruption and make government more efficient and professional.
COUNCILS OF GOVERNMENTS (COGs) -- Regional groups formed via a 1966 recommendation of the Model Cities Act where representatives of neighboring cities and counties get together to coordinate policy in such areas as zoning, transportation, and criminal justice. About 600 such entities exist today.
COUNCIL OF STATE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES (COSCDA) -- A national network of state-level community development officials who monitor federal legislation and state initiatives on housing, employment, and economic development issues.
COURT CENTRALIZATION -- A recurring proposal in which backlog is reduced by giving the state's supreme court more control over the (budget, personnel, case assignment, rules and procedures) administration of all state courts, but rarely achieved in practice and more commonly seen is the appointment of a state court administrator to oversee day-to-day operations of the whole system.
COURT CONSOLIDATION -- Also known as Court Unification, this recurring proposal calls for the elimination of minor trial courts (retaining a few small specialized courts). The goal is to reduce a four-tiered system to a two- or three-tiered system.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM -- A variety of reforms including harsher penalties on criminals, the replacement of indeterminate sentencing with determinate sentencing, mandatory minimums, "three strikes and you're out" policies, victim's bills of rights, prison construction, community policing, and alternative sentences such as electronic monitoring and "scared stright" boot camp institutions.
C-SPAN -- Created in 1979, this TV channel was established to help counter public mistrust in government by providing unedited public television coverage of Congressional hearings and related activities.
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT SPENDING LIMITS -- Much of how the military spends its money involves questionable business practice, such as the habit of noncompetitive bidding for procurement of spare parts, accepting bidding underestimates that are generally 80% lower than final costs, and not charging fees or tolls when the Corps of Engineers provide for more traffic. Another problem is the issue of commissaries, which were established in the 1800's to provide food to servicemen in frontier areas, but are today found in metropolitan area bases, costing the government millions of dollars a year due to steep price discounts.
DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP COUNCIL -- A group of elected Democrats, including Sam Nunn and Richard Gephart, created this group in 1985 to counter the leftward drift of the party due to the existence of such groups as Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition.
DEREGULATION -- The reduction or elimination of government regulations on a whole industry; advocated since 1970 as a way of reducing government's role in society and countering stagflation. Telephones (1970), Airlines (1978), Savings & Loans (1980), and Cable TV (1996) represent some of these industries.
DEVOLUTION -- The redistribution of political power from federal to state and local governments; a regular part of the platform of every conservative policy since 1960.
DIGITAL GOVERNMENT -- A movement for use of the Web and other computer technologies to make government more efficient; also see GovTech
DISASTER PLANNING REFORM -- The government funds disaster relief in advance by making annual lump-sum appropriations that are not earmarked for specific disasters, thus allowing the agencies to reallocate as they please. In addition, "reactive" funding, which occurs after a major disaster, is usually not spent in full, but is not returned back to the Treasury as it could be.
DISCRETIONARY SPENDING -- Whatever part of a budget that is "touchable" or "controllable"; that is, excludes entitlement programs, debt payoffs, and other expenses as mandated by law. Consists of less than 25% of the overall federal budget, and is decreasing for most governments.
DIVIDED GOVERNMENT -- Where one political party controls the executive branch and another party holds a majority in both houses of the legislature. The U.S. has had a divided government every year since 1968 except for the Carter administration and the first two years of the Clinton administration. More than half of the states regularly have divided governments each year. Critics argue that the President's party ought to get bonus seats in Congress to avoid divided government; and supporters say government works just as well divided.
DOWNSIZING -- A concept that emerged around 1988 in business to make their companies more competitive with Japanese firms; involves laying off thousands of workers in order to bring costs down. Many state governments in 1990 announced plans to downsize, but nothing as severe as thousands of workers. President Clinton in 1993 called for a 12% downsizing as part of his "Reinventing Government" policy, but this is spread out until the end of the century. Recently, many managers have talked about "rightsizing", which is a type of downsizing that is done more selectively and strategically.
EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT (EITC) -- Beginning in 1994, low-income, single working parents with earned income less than $27,000 (varies every year) started receiving the right to claim an extra tax credit (about a $4000 deduction) on their income tax forms so that they will be guaranteed a refund check or not have as much to pay on their taxes and/or take the extra money in advance with each paycheck using employer form W-5.. Some 14 million people claim the credit each year which is intended to offset the taxes on Social Security and other (taxable) benefits that the poor have to report as income.
ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY ACT OF 1964 -- A 13 point proposal by President Johnson to establish a "war on poverty" resulting in passage of VISTA, the Job Corps, Head Start, community action programs, and a number of other programs.
EDUCATIONAL REFORM -- A variety of reforms including increased federal funding in poorer school districts, efforts to upgrade standardized test scores (in the wake of the 1983 report A Nation at Risk which showed American students behind their foreign counterparts), school choice policies or voucher programs where parents could choose which schools to send their children to, and unified school districts to give more administrative rulemaking authority to individual schools. In 1994, Clinton's Goals 2000 Educate America Act was passed by Congress, committing the nation to 8 goals by the end of the century, including outcomes assessment, higher math/science scores, and integration of technology. Higher education, which fell upon hard times in the 1980s as opposed to the free-flowing federal funding of the 1970s, was forced to make cuts and raise tuition and fees, which appear to be stabilizing in the 1990s.
ELECTION SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION -- Usually combined with alternative systems of voting, such as cumulative voting, limited voting, and single-transferable voting which eliminates the "winner take all" characteristic of districts dominated by a particular party, modern technology allows consideration of computerized electronic systems, including registration, signature validation, balloting, campaign finance, and general record keeping; being pursued by the Federal Election Commission since 1990.
ELECTION DAY HOLIDAY -- A way to increase voter turnout by making Election Day a holiday.
ELECTORAL COLLEGE -- On Election Day in November, voters do not technically cast their ballots for presidential candidates, but for slates of electors who are pledged to support particular candidates in the electoral college. On the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December, the electors meet in their state capitols to cast their ballots. On January 6, Congress meets in a joint session to count the electoral ballots. The purpose of this rather indirect method is to produce a winner even if there is no majority of popular votes. However, a winner of the popular vote can also lose the electoral vote (if they lost in states with a large number of electors), and this has happened only three times in U.S. History where the popular winner was denied the presidency (Grover Cleveland, Andrew Jackson, & Samuel Tilden).
ELECTRONIC TOWN MEETING -- A 1992 concept for revitalizing politics and government by using telecommunications equipment to bring groups of citizens together to discuss major issues and possibly to vote directly; sometimes referred to as "teledemocracy".
ELROD v. BURNS (1976) -- First of a series of Supreme Court cases in which political patronage was attacked, ruling that employees cannot be fired because of their party affiliations; nor can any employee be hired solely on the basis of partisan politics (Rutan v. Republican Party of Illinois 1989).
ENTERPRISE ZONES -- A 1980 idea of reducing tax rates and providing other incentives for certain urban areas in order to attract business investments. At last count, over 3,000 such zones existed in U.S. and in 1993, President Clinton expanded on the idea by creating 9 separate "empowerment zones", 6 urban and 3 rural, around the country to receive special federal assistance for housing, crime prevention, and social programs.
ENTITLEMENT PROGRAMS -- A phrase with many connotations, and sometimes used to describe the one out of every six households in America that receive one or more of the following need-based benefits: food stamps, school lunch, public housing, and Medicaid.
ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT -- Started on April 22, 1970 (the first Earth Day) by a diverse group of public interest organizations to protect and conserve the nation's vast natural resources, including clean air, water, endangered species, and land subject to strip mining or toxic dumping. An area of counterreforms since the 1980s.
EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT (ERA) -- An effort to amend the Constitution that has been a somewhat divisive topic among women's rights groups since the 1920s, but in 1972 had its best chance by passing through Congress, but failed to be ratified by the states, mostly due to Southern states voting it down.
ETHICS REFORM ACT OF 1989 -- Created new ethics rules for Congress and the executive branch while at the same time raising their pay by 30%. The most notable new rule was a ban on converting unused campaign funds to private use when stepping down from office.
FEDERAL EMPLOYEES POLITICAL ACTIVITIES ACT -- Under the Hatch Act of 1939, government employees were banned from participating in political activities, but this act of 1993 liberalized those restrictions, allowing any participation outside of running themselves and soliciting contributions from subordinates.
FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD -- Consists of 12 banks that control the nation's money supply, interest rates, and credit, and acts independently of either legislative or executive control.
FINE-TUNING -- In fiscal economics, the practice of making minor adjustments to try to reduce unemployment without increasing inflation at the same time. While used somewhat in the 1970s, the practice has long since gone out of favor.
FISCAL POLICY -- A government's use of taxes and expenditures to influence the health of an economy; e.g., to increase spending and reduce taxes to simulate demand whenever there is a recession; and conversely, to reduce spending and increase taxes to reduce demand whenever there is inflation.
FLAT TAX -- Where the same tax rate is applied to all income levels, although allowing the poor to forego paying any taxes at all. Most flat tax proposals also call for an end to deductions and exemptions. Most modern tax reform is in the flat tax direction, such as in 1986 when the number of tax brackets were reduced from 15 to 3. Several politicians, including the publisher and Presidential contender Steve Forbes, are advocates of the flat tax.
FOOD STAMPS -- A federal program aimed at helping low income people (working or nonworking) to buy more food and improve their diets, administered by the Agriculture Department which pays the coupons and half the states' costs in running the program. Federal rules require that only food can be bought, and state rules determine what kinds of places (convenient stores, restaurants) food can be purchased. The target of counterreforms in 1996, the food stamp program will probably be phased out within 4-5 years. Critics say it has created an underground economy since $1 denominations are allowed to be used when detached from the coupon book. The estimate of food stamp fraud is $1 billion annually.
FOREIGN POLICY -- From containment of communism (1960s) to détente (1970s) to vilification of the "evil empire" (1980s), America's foreign policy has intimately revolved around reacting to communism. Even today's policy (1990s) is one of getting a dialogue started about human rights with communist countries. Critics argue that we are overinvested in our concern and resource allocations with communism.
FRANKING --The free mailing privileges that politicians receive to mail newsletters, surveys, and other material to constituents is often a factor in reelection rates, and critics argue this gives unfair advantage to incumbents during election years.
FREE TRADE -- When tariffs (a variety of restrictions) on foreign-made goods are removed in order to allow businesses to compete in the international market without government barriers. The U.S. follows a policy of "fair trade" instead, imposing tariffs on some countries it sees as engaging in "unfair trade".
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT -- This 1966 act is the nation's most important and only law regarding public access to government records; strengthened in 1974 to force greater compliance.
FRONTLOADING -- Any state's effort to schedule it's presidential primary near the beginning of primary season in order to increase their influence on selection of party nominees.
GAMBLING -- A way some states attempt to solve their fiscal problems. In 1980, only 13 states held lotteries and only 2 permitted casinos. Today, lotteries are held in 37 states and 10 states permit casinos. In addition, other states permit video poker and other forms of legalized betting.
GENERAL ASSISTANCE (GA) -- Also known as general relief programs which have been around since 1938, this term refers to state and county level cash assistance (about $180 a month) programs. Only about 17 states have them now since dismantling began in 1975. People on GA also receive food stamps and medical coverage. The largest group receiving GA are poor black single males who have never completed high school. Cuts in GA have been associated with higher levels of hunger and homelessness.
GENERAL REVENUE SHARING -- A 1960-1986 practice that channeled a certain amount of federal tax revenue to state and local governments with no strings attached according to a distribution formula.
GERRYMANDERING -- The drawing of political districts to benefit a particular incumbent, party, or race. Considered discrimination in most cases and the subject of many lawsuits.
GINGRICH, Newt (b. 1943) -- A congressman and former college professor from Georgia who led a landslide Republican victory in 1994 with a "Contract with America", criticizing welfare and liberal programs. Once his party took the majority of seats in 1995, he was quickly elected Speaker of the House where he has obstructed President Clinton's agenda, the budgetary standoff of 1995 being one example.
GRACE COMMISSION -- A large presidential commission in 1982 that recommended over 2500 ways to eliminate waste in government and save $400 billion a year; by the end of his term, President Reagan claimed to have implemented 80% of these recommendations.
GREAT SOCIETY -- The name for a package of social programs during the Johnson administration in the 1960s to end poverty and injustice; target of counterreforms since the 60s.
GUARANTEED MINIMUM INCOME -- A recurring idea since 1973 to provide every person in America with a livable wage if they are willing to work; largely associated with Daniel P. Moynihan's books.
GUN CONTROL -- A recurring idea, but especially relevant in light of the Brady Bill going into effect during 1998; a controversial area that doesn't seem to get beyond interpretation of the 2nd Amendment.
HAYS SCANDAL -- A 1976 event where Rep. Wayne Hays was forced to resign when it was revealed he kept Elizabeth Ray on his office payroll because she was his mistress.
HERITAGE FOUNDATION -- Conservative organization, founded in 1980, that promotes studies on free enterprise, strong national defense, welfare reform, criminal justice, and individual liberty.
HILL-THOMAS SCANDAL -- Anita Hill, a University of Oklahoma professor in 1991 claimed Clarence Thomas, Supreme Court nominee, sexually harassed her; followed by 1992 being dubbed the Year of the Woman; marked new era of attention to women's rights.
HOME RULE -- When city and county governments push for greater freedom in adopting services and programs as they see fit by asking their state governments for home rule; about half of the states allow home rule, severely limited the possibilities for reform in the others.
HOUSE BANKING SCANDAL -- A 1991 event in which it was discovered that 269 House members had overdrafts (insufficient funds) in their checking accounts and were not being penalized for it; 50 Congressmen stepped down after the scandal which also ended a number of other free perks, such as free flowers, free medical care, and free gym services.
HOUSE POST OFFICE SCANDAL -- A 1993 event which discovered that Congressmen were exchanging the free stamps allocated to their office for cash at the Post Office; led to indictment of Dan Rostenkowski, a powerful Congressmen, and the conviction of the U.S. Postmaster General.
HUMPHREY-HAWKINS ACT OF 1978 -- Requires a five-year economic plan from each President to seek no more than 4% unemployment and no inflation.
IMPOUNDMENT -- When a president refuses to spend money appropriated by Congress.
INCREMENTALISM -- Name for a type of budgeting process in which last year's expenditures are used as a baseline in developing next year's allocations.
INCUMBENCY ADVANTAGE -- A modern trend where 90% of incumbents who seek reelection are returned to office; figure is a little lower for Senate seats.
INITIATIVE -- A type of direct democracy in which citizens circulate petitions to put proposed laws on the ballot; 24 states allow the use of initiatives; the most famous of which are California's Proposition 13 (1978) which spurred a tax revolt across the state and Proposition 187 (1994) which denied state social services to illegal immigrants. Most notable reform proposal is a National Initiative, but this has not been taken seriously.
INSPECTOR GENERALS -- Positions created in 1978 in about a dozen federal agencies to investigate bureaucratic wrongdoings and report to the heads of agencies and directly to Congress.
INTERSTATE COMPACTS -- The working together to resolve mutual problems; over 170 compacts exist today involving regional associations and the passage of uniform state laws.
IRAN-CONTRA AFFAIR -- In 1986, National Security Adviser Assistant, Lt. Col. Oliver North was convicted, then found not guilty, of illegally selling arms to Iran to try to gain release of American hostages in Lebanon and then channeling the profits from the arms sale to Contra rebels in Nicaragua. Monitoring of Arms Sales is now done by watchdog groups.
JACKSON, Jesse (b. 1941) -- Civil rights leader and advocate of social reform to benefit the poor and minorities; worked with Martin Luther King, Jr. in Operation Breadbasket and SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Council); founded PUSH (People United to Serve Humanity), and the "Rainbow Coalition" (1984).
JOB CORPS -- Established in 1964 to provide eductional and vocational services to disadvantaged young people aged 14 to 24. Similar in function to VISTA and Co-op programs which were cut in 1997; similar to the older ACTION agency which was costly to administer but disbursed billions of dollars a year for volunteer activities.
JOB OPPORTUNITIES AND BASIC SKILLS PROGRAM (JOBS) -- A federal program created in 1988 (replacing the Work Incentives Program-WIN) that requires all AFDC recipients, unless too ill to participate, to be evaluated by a state official with regard to their educational, child care, and supportive service needs and agree to an individually-developed employment plan based on their skills, job readiness, and employability. States have been slow in implementing this because tight state budgets prohibited the development of a bureacracy of "caseworkers" in each county. Most states have resorted to a statewide version where they try to meet enrollment targets of 11% off welfare each year to qualify for increased federal funding.
JOB TRAINING PARTNERSHIP ACT (JTPA) -- Federal block grant program established in 1982 (and now mostly gone) which provided funds to the states for training low-income youth, adults, and displaced workers. Recipients tended to be predominantly white males while the Jobs Corp tended to be predominantly black males.
JUDICIAL ACCESS -- A variety of efforts to ensure greater access and availability to the judicial system, from assistance programs to those with disabilities to translators for those who do not speak English.
JUDICIAL ACTIVISM -- When judges actively use judicial review to overturn existing laws and reinterpret policy according to their personal beliefs about social change and protecting individual rights; most notable example was the Warren Court in 1960s which produced the Miranda and Exclusionary Rules.
JUDICIAL CONDUCT COMMISSIONS -- 1990s development, now in effect in all 50 states, to create independent commissions to help resolve charges of judicial misconduct and remove unfit judges.
JUDICIAL SELECTION REFORM -- In the wake of 1987's defeat of nominee, Robert Bork to the Supreme Court which was orchestrated by the intense lobbying efforts of various interest groups, the Senate has created ad hoc commissions to screen potential nominees and work with the President in smoothing the selection/approval process. States have also instituted a variety of appointment commissions, eliminated some elected positions, and established merit plans.
JURY REFORM -- The 1992 Rodney King case raised expert attention once again to the problems with jury trials, most notably that amateur jurors are irrational and inconsistent, and jury trials are long and expensive. Reform proposals range from juror education programs to eliminating juries. The Kenneth Starr investigation of President Clinton raised attention to the problem of Grand Juries and their misuse.
KEATING FIVE -- Five U.S. senators in the 1980s who were charged with ethics violations for trying to influence federal regulators over an ailing Savings & Loan owned by a wealthy campaign contributer; only Senator Alan Cranston was reprimanded, the others were Dennis CeConcini, John Glenn, John McCain, and Donald Riegle.
KEMP-ROTH TAX CUT -- A defeated tax reform proposal of 1978 which called for a 10% reduction per year tax cut for three successive years.
KERNER COMMISSION -- A 1968 investigation into the causes of riots in America which found "police brutality" the spark for most, if not all, riots, and also pronounced the failure of civil rights efforts to improve the quality of life for poor urban black people.
KEYNESIAN ECONOMICS -- Ideas associated with early 20th Century economist, John Maynard Keynes that the capitalist system does not automatically move toward equilibrium and requires government intervention in fiscal and monetary policies.
KOREAGATE -- 1977 scandal in which 115 Congressmen were reported to have accepted money, trips, and honorary degrees from South Korean officials and universities for supporting South Korea's interests; only one Congressman, Richard Hanna, was found guilty.
LAFFER CURVE -- 1974 brainstorm behind supply-side economics where Arthur Laffer (b. Aug, 14, 1990), economics professor, drew a curve on a napkin at a meeting which showed when taxes are too high, the government will actually lose money.
LEARNFARE -- A type of welfare reform devised in Wisconsin during 1987 that requires teenage children of welfare families to attend school in order for their family to receive benefits.
LEGISLATIVE REFORM MOVEMENT -- A variety of attempts to modernize and professionalize the staffing and policy research capabilities of legislators through improved office space, better equipment, computers, and the addition of staff.
LEGISLATIVE VETO -- When a legislature gives an executive the power to make an independent decision but reserves the right to overturn any specific decision that it disagrees with by a simple majority vote.
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR ELECTIONS -- Recurring proposal that the expanded role of lieutenant governor today requires a separate election from the governor's post.
LINE-ITEM VETO -- A power held by many governors (but not by Presidents) to deny passage of specific portions of appropriations bills; believed to help curtail legislative riders, better control spending, and reduce deficits.
LITERACY TESTS -- Prior to 1975, some states, particularly in the South, required literacy tests before voters were allowed to vote. Banned today along with poll taxes.
LOBBYING -- The organized and well-orchestrated distribution of gifts and campaign contributions in attempts to influence the behavior of politicians. All states today require the registration of lobbyists and most call for financial disclosure by lobbyists, and the lobbyists themselves advocate ethical behavior.
LOSER PAYS RULE -- Proposal in which losers in civil cases must pay court costs.
LOTTERIES -- Trend from 1980 to create state lottery systems, now in effect in 37 states, from scratch cards to lottos in order to bolster state finances.
LULUs (Locally Unwanted Land Uses) -- Development projects, waste dumps, prisons, and low-cost housing projects that are viewed as undesirable (NIMBY - Not in My Backyard) by residents in the area where they are planned.
MAJORITY-MINORITY DISTRICTS -- A 1982 development in which voting districts are redrawn to ensure the election of minority group members.
MANAGEMENT BY OBJECTIVES -- A 1970s budgeting technique in which staff are asked to help identify specific tasks for which they will be held accountable.
MANDATES -- When the federal government (or state) requires states (or cities) to perform some particular task. Usually unfunded, such mandates only provide a new law, but do not make available any money to cover the costs. Subject of mandate reform in 1994 limiting the number every year.
MEANS-TESTED PROGRAMS -- Each year, Health and Human Services (HHS) releases Consumer Price Index-adusted Poverty-level eligibility guidelines for welfare programs (such as AFDC) that require recipients to fall somewhere within 33% of these poverty levels in order to receive benefits. These so-called "poverty levels" are reported by size of family unit, such as these 1996 figures:

MEDICAID -- Federal program created in 1965 that provides health insurance to the poor (low-income people). Increasingly costly (37 million people; $156 billion), and the target of many reform proposals, including managed health care, rationing, and waivers. Costs are picked up by both state and federal governments (with the federal share usually the larger). It is available to anyone who meets the fairly loose eligibility criteria (anyone receiving GA or SSI or having children when income and assets are low), and covers inpatient, outpatient, office visits, lab tests, x-ray, home health, screenings, family planning, prenatal care, rural health clinics, and all treatment for children under age 21.
MEDICARE -- Federal program created in 1965 that provides health insurance to the elderly and covers hospital and nursing home costs. Increasingly costly and expected to worsen as baby boomers reach age 65, most reforms revolve around encouraging greater use of private insurance. A battle over Medicare forced a government shutdown in 1995.
MEDICARE-AID -- A new program from Medicaid, passed by Congress in 1988, to help with costs of co-payments and deductibles for Medicare; eliminates the annual "spend-down" (deductible) provision of $560 for hospitalization and $75 for outpatient care; covers what Medicare does not pay.
MERIT PLAN -- A plan for selecting state judges that is used in about 20 states; also known as the Missouri Plan where a commission reviews potential candidates and forwards a final list to the governor who appoints and then after one or two years on the bench, the judge runs for reelection on his/her record; a variation called the California Plan adds the power of the commission to veto the governor's selection.
MERIT SYSTEM -- A personnel system based on performance not politics; as opposed to patronage systems in which jobs are distributed for loyalty.
METROPOLITAN FRAGMENTATION -- Idea that there are too many local governments in the U.S., and that overlapping jurisdictions ought to be combined in order to produce better crime control and transportation services.
MILITARY BASE CLOSINGS -- Of the 4,000 military bases nationwide, only about 312 or so are considered significant. Since 1976, the base-closings movement has been made enormously difficult by legislation that has actually inhibited the conversion of closed bases to prisons, campuses, or other useful purposes.
MINIMUM WAGE -- Last increased by 90 cents to $5.15 per hour in 1995.
MODEL CITY CHARTER -- The National Municipal League's recommendation on how best to restructure city government; advocates council-manager system.
MODEL STATE CONSTITUTION -- National Civic League's recommendation on what an ideal state constitution ought to look like.
MORTGAGE LOAN REFORM -- The General Accounting Office finds every year that subsidized loans are not being made to low- and moderate-income people, but those who could have purchased homes without assistance.
NADER, Ralph (b. 1934) -- An activist who successfully battled General Motors in the 1960s; founder of several public interest groups, most recently, Public Citizen, which promotes interest of product safety, an overriding theme in his activism.
NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) -- Founded in 1909 and most influential in the 1960s for accomplishing legal reforms and fighting segregation in all its various forms; sponsors a network of voter education, registration programs, and legal defense funds.
NASA SPENDING LIMITS -- A lot of money is spent on the space program that could go elsewhere.
NATIONAL CENTER FOR STATE COURTS -- Founded in 1971 to study ways to improve court administration; also serves as major information clearinghouse on court programs.
NATIONAL CLEARINGHOUSE FOR LEGAL SERVICES -- Center on poverty law.
NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF STATE LEGISLATURES (NCSL) -- Serves the legislators of all fifty states with tools for analyzing information of a policy nature.
NATIONAL COURT OF APPEALS -- 1970s proposal to create a new intermediate court that would sit between the Supreme Court and the Federal Appeals courts.
NATIONAL DEBT -- The total amount of money the federal government owes to investors through the accumulation of recurring annual deficits.
NATIONAL EMERGENCIES ACT of 1976 -- Requires the President to notify Congress in advance of his intentions to exercise emergency, military action.
NATIONAL GOVERNOR'S ASSOCIATION (NGA) -- Serves the nation's governors with summaries of actions and reforms taken in other states.
NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN (NOW) -- Founded in 1966 to support legislation and reforms designed to end discrimination against women.
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE FEE COLLECTION -- Visitors pay nearly next to nothing at entrances to national parks, almost the entire operating budget is subsidized by the taxpayers, totaling millions of dollars every year. In addition, grazing fees are not what they should be, and then there's the free firewood giveaways for anyone lucky to know about it.
NATIONAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW -- 1993 Clinton commission to propose bureaucratic reforms and cut red tape; based on reinventing government ideas from the book From Red Tape to Results by David Osborne & Ted Gaebler, but often referred to as the Gore Report.
NATIONAL PRIMARY -- Proposal to replace the series of party caucuses and primaries with a way for voters across the country to cast their ballots on the same day.
NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE -- Founded in 1910 to unite African-American communities in various cities and help negotiate with white-owned corporations to increase black participation.
NEED-BASED STANDARDS (STANDARDS OF NEED) -- Every year or so, each state publishes its definition of need to set benefit levels for its various assistance programs and in some cases to adjust the eligibility payments under federal (means-tested) guidelines. Standards vary from state to state, but generally estimate the average costs of shelter, food, clothing, utilities, and personal/household items per state.
NEGATIVE CAMPAIGNING REFORM -- Efforts to restrict elaborate political commercial productions and regulate television advertisements where political opponents are cast in a negative light.
NEGATIVE INCOME TAX -- 1970s proposal to eliminate welfare by replacing it with a guaranteed minimum income; associated with the ideas of D.P. Moynihan.
NEW FEDERALISM -- A term used to refer to Presidents Nixon and Reagan's tendency to relegate the responsibility for social problems to the states.
NONPARTISAN ELECTIONS -- Where the candidates party affiliations are not indicated on the ballot; most U.S. city elections and the state of Nebraska use this method.
OBEY COMMISSION -- A 1977 nonpartisan commission that proposed reforms in the House code of ethics to limit the influence of money on members' behavior.
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET (OMB & OMB WATCH) -- Replaced the Bureau of the Budget in 1970 to provide the President with greater oversight and advice on management issues; this watchdog agency has a watchdog group of its own.
OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY & THE DRUG LIBRARY -- Home of the drug czar and the resource page of those opposed to the drug czar.
OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT (OPM) -- Replaced the Civil Service Commission in 1978 to be responsible for all federal hiring.
OFFICIAL ENGLISH MOVEMENT -- A circa-1981 movement spearheaded by Senator S.I. Hayakawa to make English the nation's official language in reaction to bilingual movements of the 1960s and 70s.
O.J. SIMPSON SCANDAL -- A 1994 event in which racist police were accused of planting evidence and "rushing to judgment" in efforts to convict O.J. Simpson of the murder of his wife Nicole.
OMBUDSMAN OFFICES -- A 1970s trend among cities and states to create the position of ombudsman, whose job it is to handle complaints and resolve service problems.
OMNIBUS LEGISLATION -- Massive bills that combine several distinct policy initiatives; also referred to as packaging; allows unpopular bills to be signed into law as part of larger, more popular bills.
OVERSIGHT -- Efforts by Congress and state legislatures to monitor the performance of bureaucracies.
PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT OF 1980 -- Designed to reduce the paperwork demands on private citizens, agencies, and others involved in governmental processes; also seen as a cost-cutting reform.
PARTNERSHIP INDUSTRY COUNCILS (PICs) -- Similar to JTPA's and TCI's but exist mostly commonly in Tri-County form to service the needs of unemployed and laid off/dislocated workers; attempts to bridge the justice, mental health, and educational systems to provide assessment and retraining.
PAY-AS-YOU-GO BUDGETING (PAYGO) -- A 1990s effort to require all increases in spending to be offset by corresponding decreases in other spending or tax increases.
PAYROLL TAXES -- Since the 1960s, the fastest growing form of federal taxation, levied on both employers and employees to pay for social security, Medicare, and unemployment compensation; surpluses are used to pay off the national debt.
PENTAGON PAPERS -- The 1971 release of a top-secret government study on the Vietnam War which revealed repeated distortions and political cover-ups.
PEROT, H. Ross (b. 1930) -- Texas billionaire who launched a 1992 presidential campaign and led the nation's strongest third-party movement since Teddy Roosevelt's Bull Moose ticket in 1912. He received 19% of the popular vote when he ran for President. Founder of the Reform party on which Jesse Ventura became governor of Minnesota.
PERSONAL INCOME TAXES -- A levy on individual earnings; the primary source of revenue for the federal government and the second most important source of revenue (behind sales taxes) for state and local governments. Following a nationwide tax revolt in 1985, Congress passed the Tax Reform Act of 1986 which was the last sweeping tax reform and closed several corporate and special interest loopholes.
PERSONAL PACs -- A type of political action committee controlled by a single individual, primarily used by candidates themselves to collect and spend funds prior to announcing a run for office or reelection; similar in effect to building a campaign war chest.
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY AND WORK OPPORTUNITY RECONCILIATION ACT -- Passed in 1996, a welfare law that ends entitlement programs and cuts federal funds for over seven other types of programs. Similar to WORK AND RESPONSIBILITY ACT OF 1994, but contains stronger language eliminating any federal guarantee of help to the impoverished, transferring all such responsibilities to the states with a time limit of five years of aid in a lifetime to any family (except where the state approves a hardship exemption). Also limits food stamp assistance for childless people to 3 months of help in a 3 year period; eliminates maladaptive behavior as qualifier for SSI; eliminates all but emergency medical help to legal aliens (immigrant children); and creates a child support delinquency registry, making it easier to track and garnish wages of parents who skip across state lines.
POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEES (PACs) -- Legal entities used by interest groups to channel campaign funds to a candidate indirectly. Labor unions and industry groups were the first PACs in the 1960s, and today, over 4000 corporate and non-corporate PACs are registered.
POLITICAL PARTIES -- Studies show that Americans dislike the two-party system, but have been inconsistent in supporting third-party or independent candidates. Other studies argue that the two-party system is essential to democracy, despite the public's distaste for party politics.
PORK-BARREL LEGISLATION -- Bills that channel public funds to individual states or districts for building dams, highways, military installations, or prisons; primarily used for creating jobs and voter loyalty.
POSTAL SERVICE SPENDING LIMITS -- There are many ways to make the postal service more efficient; to name one example, as operators of the world's largest fleet of nonmilitary vehicles, they could recondition the vehicles prior to resale, thus recouping some of the annual loss.
PREEMPTION -- Term used to describe when a federal law supersedes a state law; has happened 275 times since 1960, and occurs most often in the areas of environmental control and health and safety.
PRIMARIES -- The main method by which political parties select candidates for public office; involves voting for individuals who want to run for office by registered party members only.
PRIVATE GOVERNMENTS -- Also called Shadow Governments; when private organizations provide services, assess taxes, regulate behavior, and perform all the functions of government; the most common form of these are homeowner associations of which 150,000 exist in America today.
PRIVATIZATION -- The transfer of government responsibilities and assets to the private sector; the most notable example of this was the sale of Conrail in 1986. Similarly, many cities, counties, and states have hired private companies for trash pickup, street repair, and prison or hospital management (contracting out). Also, there has been growing interest in vouchers (especially in housing and education) where individuals who need some type of government service use certificates to buy those services from suppliers of their choice.
PROCUREMENT -- How a government purchases goods and services from the private sector; reforms have centered around the problems with sealed bids, cost overruns, and favoritism.
PROGRAM BUDGETING (PPBS) -- Planning-Programming-Budgeting System; a budgeting technique first developed in 1961 which requires budget heads to identify reachable goals and then design specific programs to attain those goals. Programs with similar goals are then grouped together, regardless of the departments in which they are housed.
PROGRESSIVE TAXATION -- When the tax rate is greater for people with higher incomes or loopholes are closed for the wealthy; not as common as regressive taxation which is used primarily in America.
PROPERTY TAX -- Any tax levied on ownership of real property; the primary source of revenue for local governments in the U.S. Often criticized as regressive because landowners pass their tax burden on to renters.
PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION -- A proposed reform of the electoral system where electoral seats are distributed according to the percentage of votes cast rather than the number of district party members.
PUBLIC CITIZEN -- Founded in 1971 by Ralph Nader, an umbrella group for a number of public interest and educational organizations; considered the nation's preeminent and most effective "good government" and "better business" group.
PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH GROUPS (PIRGs) -- Student-led organizations that were first started on college campuses in 1971 for consumer rights and other concerns. Only 25 remain in the U.S. today.
PUBLIC SERVICE DEREGULATION -- Proposals to reduce the number of regulations on bureaucrats in order to give them more job flexibility, more personnel decisionmaking power, and greater discretion in procurement procedures.
RAINBOW COALITION -- Founded in 1984 and coalesced around Jesse Jackson's candidacy for President, this civil rights group promotes "progressive" reform.
REAGANOMICS -- The economic, supply-side policies implemented by President Reagan in 1981: reduced spending, fewer regulations, lower taxes, and strict monetary policy.
REAPPORTIONMENT -- The redistribution of congressional seats among the states following each decennial census; a problem with low population states like Montana which only get one House seat, but has two distinct political regions.
RECALL -- A political process that allows voters to remove an elected official before the end of their term by garnering a requisite number of votes and holding a special election; valid in federal government and in only 15 states.
RECONCILIATION -- The way Congress changes existing laws to make them meet the budget's spending and revenue goals by rolling all committee recommendations into one reconciliation bill.
REDISTRICTING -- The task of drawing and redrawing district boundaries to adjust for population shifts; planning which is often done with computer software.
REFERENDUM -- A type of legislation that allows or requires voters to approve it before it becomes law; available in all states, but only in 23 can voters put an item up for referendum. Critics say the process promotes unregulated referenda campaigns; supporters say the process is a type of direct democracy.
REFORM PARTY -- A third party movement, mostly involving Pat Buchanan.
REINVENTING GOVERNMENT -- A 1992 phrase which refers to any reforms intended to decentralize decision making, encourage competition in the delivery of services, place greater emphasis upon results, and make agencies more customer oriented.
REVERSE DISCRIMINATION -- A phrase often associated with criticism of racial quota systems but also contractual "set asides" that allocate 30% or so of contracts to minorities.
REVOLVING-DOOR RESTRICTIONS -- Attempted group of reforms since 1970 to restrict the lobbying activities of former government employees ranging from bans on lobbying former places of employment for one year after leaving their posts to more permanent restrictions. 35 states have rules regulating the employment activities of those who have left government service.
RODNEY KING SCANDAL -- A 1991-2 series of events in which Los Angeles police chased and beat up a driver named Rodney King while they were being secretly videotaped by a spectator and their racial slurs were being recorded on police transmissions. The spectator sold the videotape to a TV station, which aired it and shocked the nation. The officers went to trial, and were found not guilty, which led to major rioting in LA and a recuperating Rodney King appearance on TV saying "Can't We All Just Get Along". A retrial resulted in convictions of five of the officers involved, and a (Christopher) commission probe recommended changes in the police culture.
RUNOFF ELECTIONS -- In some parts of the South, an absolute majority is needed to be elected, so a run-off election takes place between the top two vote getters; criticized as producing extra racial polarization among voters and figures such as David Duke's 40% of the vote.
SAGEBRUSH REBELLION -- A 1970s movement out West that sought to transfer ownership of federal lands to the states in order to protect ranchers, miners, and other industries who feared government's growing support for environmentalism. James Watt, secretary of the interior, supported the rebellion's position, and was forced to resign in 1983.
SALARY REDUCTION -- Idea that politicians need to stop giving themselves raises; avg. politician salary now $136,672 a year.
SALES TAX -- A tax applied to the sale of goods; exists as the primary source of revenue in 45 states. The federal government does not have a sales tax, but excise taxes on several types of goods, including gasoline, alcohol, and tobacco.
SAVINGS AND LOAN CRISIS -- The 1978-1988 accumulation of risky loans and high interest savings accounts by savings banks, following a government lifting of restrictions on the amount of interest that could be earned by a savings account, combined with cutbacks on the number of bank examiners, led to the collapse or insolvency of about 1600 banking institutions around the country. The federal bailout cost $500 billion to restore or liquidate the assets of these banks.
SCHOOL VOUCHERS -- A 1980s idea to allow parents to choose which schools their children attend and let free market competition weed out the bad schools; also know as School Choice reform.
SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE -- An elite group of about 8000 federal bureaucrats established in 1978 to help improve management of the bureaucracy.
SENIORITY RULE -- The rule that committee assignments, party leadership positions, and other perks are distributed according to seniority. Reformers claim this rule locks out junior, talented leadership.
SERVICE TAXES -- State and local taxes on the purchase of services; not currently in widespread use but expected to become more so as a service economy comes nearer.
SHORT BALLOT -- A 1990s trend which occurs when a city or state government allows voters to elect only a limited number of officials thus reducing the number of elected officials and consolidating power in the hands of a chief executive.
SLATE MAILERS -- Lists of endorsements for candidates and ballot propositions sent out by political committees to influence voters often under deceptive organization names to mislead voters into thinking the group represents official party organizations.
SOCIAL SECURITY -- In existence since 1935 to provide financial support to retired workers, the program was expanded in the 1960s to aid the disabled thru SSI payments which has become one of the fastest-growing forms of welfare. It is estimated that the social security system will go broke in the year 2030 or sooner as the baby boom population reaches retirement age. In any given year, social security also makes thousands of erroneous payments.
SOFT MONEY -- Campaign contributions given by groups to candidates to circumvent federal campaign finance laws; allowed under loophole for "party-building" activities.
SORTING OUT -- Reform proposal which redistributes the responsibilities handled by state and federal governments in a more rational manner, allowing each level of government to do what it does best.
SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER -- Group that fights hate, intolerance, and discrimination; sponsors of Klanwatch & MilitiaWatch.
SPECIAL DISTRICTS -- A type of local government providing a special service to a community or region created by residents who feel that current governments are unable to handle the job or that the problem transcends conventional jurisdictions.
SPENDING LIMITS -- Campaign finance reform in which each candidate is allowed an equal or equitable amount of money to spend.
SSI (Supplemental Security Income) -- Federally funded income assistance program created in 1972 which replaced a grants system of assistance for the old, blind, and disabled. It provides monthly cash benefits (a high average of about $450) to people without the possibility of receiving benefits from other sources, including those with HIV infection, mental retardation, mental illness, and chronic illness. Drug and alcohol related disabilities also qualify but the money is doled out by a payee supervisor. 26 states also provide a state supplement. A person can receive both SSI and Social Security, but not both SSI and AFDC. If a parent or child is eligible for both, the parent must choose. SSI recipients can also receive Medicaid and food stamps. White females with either mental retardation or mental illness make up the largest group of SSI recipients. In any given year, SSI either overpays or underpays its recipients.
STEVENSON COMMITTEE - A committee in 1976 headed by Adlai Stevenson which recommended reducing the number of Senate committees from 31 to 24.
STRONG MAYOR/WEAK MAYOR -- Recurring polar proposals to abolish/strengthen city councils or increase/restrict the mayor's veto power over council decisions; purpose of either reform is to break up/alter political party domination over a city.
STUDENT LOAN REFORM -- There have been numerous scandals in this area, but the most recurrent problems have been students declaring bankruptcy and/or skipping without a trace, and mismanagement at the schools, because they submitted inadequate data and/or were not really schools at all.
SUBGOVERNMENTS -- A 1990s term to describe small groups of politicians and lobbyists who dominate decisions in a certain area.
SUNSET LAWS -- A 1970s trend to set the date when programs will end at the time programs are authorized; ensures programs never outlive their usefulness.
SUNSHINE LAWS -- A 1970s trend to open government meetings to public scrutiny.
SUPERMAJORITIES -- Requirements that particular kinds of legislation, like tax increases, must receive extra-large majorities in order to be enacted.
TAKINGS -- The provision of compensation for land or private property whenever a government exercises its power of eminent domain to reassess its regulatory and zoning limits; misused by influential developers to undermine environmental protection by getting the federal government to take the land and then sell it off.
TERM LIMITS -- The idea or paradigm that elected officials should be allowed to serve for only a limited length of time; resurfaced in the 1990s as a popular issue but more implemented in the states than with the federal government.
THIRD PARTIES -- Viable, alternative political parties where members are neither Democrats nor Republicans. The Libertarian Party has been the most successful in recent years, placing its candidates on the ballot in all 50 states and in presidential elections.
TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT (TQM) -- A customer-oriented management philosophy that calls for increased employee participation in decision making.
TRANSFERS -- The practice among elected officials to transfer funds from their own campaign accounts to those of other candidates running for office. There is considerable variation in regulations regarding transfers.
TRAVEL JUNKET REFORM -- Politicians and high-ranking civil servants spend thousands annually on various fact-finding missions overseas, and everybody knows they're just paid overseas vacations.
TREATMENT ALTERNATIVES TO STREET CRIME (TASC) -- a 1970's era program, still in existence in most places, which acts a bridge between the justice system and the treatment community, supporting deferred prosecution, diversion, or creative sentencing for nonviolent first offenders involving alcohol/drug abuse.
TRI-COUNTY INDUSTRIES (TCI) -- Established in the 1960's, these regional work-oriented rehabilitation facilities, similar to PIC's, serve an average of 3-5 counties in providing vocational evaluation, training, job placement, and some daily living services to assist clients of any age to become independent; most, but not all, clients have some physical or emotional disability, and TCI supervises their work from contracted employers in a flex-time arrangement.
TRIAL LAWYERS FOR PUBLIC JUSTICE -- A group of lawyers who fight for good causes, such as environmentalism and public safety.
TWO-YEAR BUDGET CYCLE -- Budget reform proposal to eliminate the annual budget process and give politicians a break to focus upon activities other than the budget.
UNICAMERALISM -- A recurring, but unpopular proposal to consolidate both Senate and House into one legislature. Nebraska has this type of legislature.
UNITED STATES CONFERENCE OF MAYORS -- Serves the nation's mayors with information and position statements on vital issues, including the problems of poverty and homelessness.
USER FEE - A type of tax levied on the beneficiary of a government service or program; examples being toll roads or recreational areas; expected to become a more common source of revenue.
VALUE-ADDED TAX -- A type of sales tax that is levied at all stages and during all transactions with a product, from manufacture to resale; intended to help stimulate stewardship in products along the way.
VETERAN'S ADMINISTRATION SPENDING LIMITS -- Mostly a hands-off area since nobody wants to appear ungrateful to veterans, but QC/QA estimates each year point to payment error rates as high as 8% for education and 4% for compensation and health. And, everybody knows the length of stay in a Veteran's hospital is three times the average length of stay in a private hospital.
VICTIM/WITNESS ASSISTANCE -- 1980's and 90's era attempts to staff District Attorney's offices with trained personnel or volunteers to assist victims and witnesses with their various needs, providing information on State compensation (if available), case expedition, and case notification.
VOLCKER COMMISSION -- A 1989 commission to improve the civil service by cutting back on positions, raising pay of remaining positions, and other morale-raising activities; named after former head of the Federal Reserve System, Paul Volcker.
VOTER REGISTRATION -- America is the only country in the world to place the burden of voter registration on the voter. Even simple registration reforms could increase turnout as much as 15%. Reforms to use state agencies, like DMVs, to register voters are referred to as motor voter laws; other reforms include mail registration and putting the burden on a government census-like organization..
VOTING AGE - Lowered to 18 in 1971 with the Twenty-Sixth Amendment in response to the popularity of Vietnam era draft protests.
WAGE AND PRICE CONTROLS -- Until 1970, this was the primary way government controlled inflation by ordering a freeze on wages and prices. President Nixon imposed them in 1971 and President Carter did it briefly in 1979 but made them voluntary.
WAR ON POVERTY -- A 1960s series of initiatives involving recreational and Junior Achievement programs by Presidents Kennedy and Johnson to reduce poverty and create specific programs to help the poor.
WAR POWERS RESOLUTION OF 1973 -- Adopted after it was revealed that President Nixon was secretly bombing Cambodia, this requires a consultation with Congress before the President commits troops in foreign countries or to report the commitment within 48 hours and to withdraw the troops within 60 days if war is not declared.
WATERGATE -- A 1972 scandal in which several Nixon White House aids were caught breaking into Democratic National Committee's headquarters at the Watergate Hotel. Nixon claimed "I am not a crook" but his involvement was later revealed on tapes he had made of his own conversations in the White House. He resigned in 1974, and trust in government seriously declined.
WELFARE -- A generic term referring to public assistance programs for the needy; in most discussions, defined as: income assistance (AFDC, General Assistance, Social Security); medical care (Medicaid); food and nutrition assistance (food stamps, WIC, school breakfasts and lunches); education and training (JTPA, Head Start); and other minor programs for low-income people (legal services and energy assistance). (Hombs p. 9)
WHISTLE-BLOWING -- The reporting of illegal or inappropriate practices within one's bureaucracy, strengthened by 1978 laws protecting the whistle-blower, creation of Inspector General offices in certain agencies, and the Office of Special Prosecutor (later renamed Office of Independent Counsel).
WINOGRAD COMMISSION -- A 1980 Democratic party reform in which at least half the seats among delegates to the nominating convention are reserved for women.
WINTER COMMISSION -- A 1991 reform to lower the costs of state and local government by eliminating many middle management positions.
WOMEN, INFANTS, & CHILDREN (WIC) -- State-run welfare programs, funded the same as Food Stamps by the US Dept. of Agriculture, in which clients evaluated by a nutritionist or nurse receive "checks" to use on certain food products at grocery stores; clients must be pregnant, had a baby within last 6 months, be a child under the age of 5, and in addition, have a health risk factor determined by height/weight, blood test, health or diet history; free food includes milk, juice, cheese, beans, peas, eggs, cereal, peanut butter, and formula.
WORKFARE (Work First) -- A form of welfare that requires recipients to work in order to receive benefits, formally adopted as policy by President Clinton in 1994; critics argue that it neither reduces welfare rolls nor increases job skills since about two-thirds of people on welfare already supplement their assistance with income from unstable jobs anyway; proponents say it reduces welfare rolls by 10-20% in the first year alone; it requires getting a job within 12 weeks of receiving assistance, working at least 30 hours a week and/or be in short-term training, and signing a personal responsibility contract of plans to get off welfare.
WORK AND RESPONSIBILITY ACT OF 1994 -- President Clinton's welfare reform bill that ties uncollected child support to factors that drive people onto welfare, allows "pilot" experimentations by the states, and makes other recommendations consistent with the principles of his Working Group. Claims to cut $56 billion (from $208 billion total) in federal spending by ending the decades-old practice of cash assistance to the poor, and passed by Congress in 1996 as the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act.
WORKING GROUP ON WELFARE REFORM -- Created in 1993, President Clinton's group of governors, academics, administration officials, and other experts who review projections on poverty and welfare rates and produce principles to guide welfare reform proposals, such as the core principle of limiting all cash assistance to two years.
ZERO-BASED BUDGETING -- A 1970s budgeting technique in which agencies are asked to assume there is absolutely no money for next year and to justify everything they need from the ground up.

Some items in this glossary were adapted and modified from the Encyclopedia of American Political Reform (1996) by Richard Clucas; from Welfare Reform: A Reference Handbook (1996) by Mary Hombs, Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO; or from the following books:

Also see:
Kahn, L. (2003). Results at the Edge: The Ten Rules of Government Reform. Lanham, MD: Univ. Press of America.
Trattner, W. (1984) From Poor Law to Welfare State: A History of Social Welfare in America. New York: Free Press.

Last updated 12/20/04
Instructor Home Page
North Carolina Wesleyan College
Rocky Mount, NC 27804