social policy essay plan

What is social policy and why is it important?

Highly publicised recent examples of discrimination and abuse have focused the world’s attention on some of the key issues which underpin modern social policies, namely criminal justice and inequality. 

Given the raft of social challenges we face – from economic crisis and austerity to the effects of over population, an ageing population and climate change – never before has the study of social policy been so relevant.   

What is social policy? 

Social policy  consists of guidelines, principles, legislation and activities that affect the living conditions conducive to human welfare, such as a person’s quality of life. 

In education, it is the interdisciplinary study of contemporary social, political and economic problems, such as poverty, inequality, crime, unemployment, healthcare, education and housing, and the potential policy responses to them.    

Why is social policy important? 

Social policy is important as the means by which governments, families, businesses and organisations can have a positive impact on welfare and social protection.

Studying social policy is also significant in order to provide an objective evaluation of how effectively resources and opportunities are being distributed to people from different socio-economic backgrounds, with a view to continuing improvement. 

What's the future look like for social policy? Explore further:

What is a well-known example of social policy? 

Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, who became the first Chancellor of the German Empire in 1871, is regarded as the creator of the first modern welfare state.

In 1881, he introduced a legislative programme of welfare reforms, including retirement pensions, national health and accident insurance.

Here in Britain, one of the most famous examples of social policy was the National Health Service Act of 1946, which established a comprehensive health service for England and Wales, free at the point of use and universally available to all.   

Where does the idea of social policy come from? 

One of the earliest examples of social policy through government intervention dates back to Umar ibn al-Khattāb’s rule as the second caliph of Islam in the 6th century.

He used zakat collections (a form of Muslim giving) and other governmental resources to establish pensions, income support, child benefits, and various stipends for people of the non-Muslim community.   

What’s the difference between social policy and public policy?  

Public policy covers any government-related actions concerning society at large –, anything from taxation and law to energy or emissions, for example.

Whereas social policy is focused on solving social problems, such as economic and educational inequality, racial and health disparities. Social policy is essentially a subset of public policy, so all social policy is public policy, but not all public policy is social policy.   

How does a career in public administration differ from social policy?  

Public administration focuses on the implementation of public policy at a local, regional or national government level, or internationally in the case of organisations such as the International Monetary Fund or European Commission.

A career in social policy offers broader opportunities to research, create, evaluate and implement welfare policies and social problems across the public, private and third (voluntary) sector.   

How can social policies impact healthcare outcomes? Read our guide:

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Social policy (essay)

I used these notes last year and they helped get 118/120 

look at my other sociology notes

I also did a videos using some of the notes: 

http://www.youtube.com/user/Schoolstuffful

RC = ruling class

WWC = white collar crime

CJS = criminal justice system

EMs = ethnic minorities

TNC's = transnational corporation

• Created by: Chantelle
• Created on: 19-08-11 15:53
• Sociological theory

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• Table of Contents
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• Section 3. Social Planning and Policy Change

Chapter 5 Sections

• Section 1. Strategies for Community Change and Improvement: An Overview
• Section 2. Community (Locality) Development
• Section 4. Social Action
• Section 5. Coalition Building I: Starting a Coalition
• Section 6. Coalition Building II: Maintaining a Coalition

• Main Section

Sometimes, the impetus for community health and development efforts come from social planners and policy makers. For instance, data on the level of diseases or educational outcomes may be used to raise issues on the public agenda. This section discusses how social planning approaches can inform change efforts.

What do we mean by social planning and policy change?

Social planning is the process by which policymakers - legislators, government agencies, planners, and, often, funders - try to solve community problems or improve conditions in the community by devising and implementing policies intended to have certain results.  These policies may take the form of laws, regulations, incentives, media campaigns, programs or services, information - a wide range of possibilities.  A community or state Board of Health that adopts a regulation banning smoking in particular places, for example, is trying both to protect the public from second-hand smoke and to reduce smoking in general.

There is a long history in the U.S. and elsewhere of social planning. Traditionally, this has meant that policymakers decided what they thought was good for a community or a population, and imposed policy that was meant to bring about the results they wanted.  At best, this has meant programs that benefited large numbers of people - Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, Head Start, various public health programs.  At worst, social planning has been used largely for the benefit - economic or political - of the policymakers and their friends and supporters.

In other cases, well-intentioned planning has led to negative consequences. Urban renewal in the 1950s and '60s, for instance, by clearing "slum" neighborhoods, was meant to make cities into better places to live - safer, more attractive, and economically healthier. In fact, it often had that effect only for the people who moved into new housing and businesses after the original population had been displaced, and given nowhere else to go.  In many cases, it destroyed vital, unblighted communities.

Perhaps the most famous instance of this was the leveling of Boston's West End, an immigrant and first-generation neighborhood profiled in The Urban Villagers, a well-known sociological study by Herbert Gans (ironically, first published in 1962, two years after the neighborhood had disappeared).  Gans showed how this urban neighborhood functioned like a rural village, with social structures and institutions that made for a strong sense of community, even in the midst of a large, 20th Century city.  Generations of immigrants, particularly Italians and Eastern European Jews, had become Americans there, while retaining their cultural and family ties. Far from being blighted, although it was composed largely of tenements, the neighborhood was a true community with a colorful and lively street life, beloved by its residents.  It was knocked down and replaced by a luxury apartment complex bounded by highways and surrounded by a chain-link fence.  A sign next to the apartment complex, meant to be seen by people stuck in traffic on one of the highways, reads "If you lived here, you'd be home now."  The residents of the West End had been "home now."  The fact that, 50 years later, those surviving still publish a newsletter and hold reunions demonstrates just how out of touch the planners were with what was "good for" them.

Social planning, however, doesn't have to take a wholly top-down form.  Starting in the 1960's, many social programs carried requirements for community participation in planning and implementing programs and initiatives. (The Model Cities Program, a cornerstone of Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty, is a prime example.) While these requirements were often honored more in the breach than in the observance, they acknowledged that social initiatives work better, and generate better policy, when those affected by them are involved in creating them.

Top-down planning, though well-meaning, may fail to take into account the realities of the situation it is addressing. This failure can stem from:

• Ignorance of the community, and of the fact that what works in one community may not work in another. Community social patterns, history (especially past attempts to deal with the issue in question), or economics may work, individually or in combination, to create a unique situation. That situation has to be understood before the creation of successful policy can follow.
• Ignorance of the lives of those at whom the plan is aimed. The cultural assumptions of immigrant groups, or those from particular ethnic or racial backgrounds, may be totally foreign to those engaged in planning for them.  Even if the division between the policymakers and the population at whom their policies are aimed is solely economic, there may be vast differences in the ways they see the world, as well as vast differences in the worlds they inhabit. If policymakers don't understand the culture and assumptions - and real needs - of the people they hope to affect, their policies are doomed to fail.
• Unintended consequences that are not apparent initially.  Sometimes, a plan or policy that seems positive on its face has results that are profoundly negative. The public housing complexes erected in the U.S. after World War II were meant to be clean, safe, comfortable residences for low-income citizens.  Instead, their institutional character and isolation from the mainstream life of their communities bred alienation and despair in their residents, and led to crime and horrible living conditions.

The Cabrini-Green projects in Chicago, notorious for drugs and crime, were recently torn down and replaced by mixed-income housing designed to be part of the neighborhood, with a fair number of units reserved for former Cabrini-Green residents.

• Policymakers' lack of experience in the field.  Practitioners - especially those who also have academic credentials - know that the difference between theory and reality can often be vast.  When logical, best-possible-scenario initiatives or interventions come up against underfunding, street culture, political maneuvering, substance use, mistrust of outsiders, and turf battles, they don't always work the way planners think they should.

In addition, social planning can be used to further goals that have nothing to do with the welfare or advancement of those who are affected by them.  Such goals may be intended to benefit friends or supporters of powerful politicians, or merely to generate political capital.  In these cases, they are likely to be badly planned and administered, and to have little effect.  On the other hand, the goals may be appropriate and praiseworthy, but aren't effectively addressed because of a lack of skill or will on the part of those assigned to carry them out.  Citizen participation can help to prevent the social planning process from failing in these ways.

The Community Tool Box sees social planning and policy change as a partnership between the community and policymakers to create policy that brings about positive social change.  As a result, we will look at social planning and policy change from two angles:

a.  From the policymaker's perspective, i.e., how to use the social planning process to create policy that achieves its goals with the best positive results for everyone in the community, as well as policymakers themselves. b.  From a grassroots perspective, i.e., how to approach policymakers at the beginning of the process, so that those in the community affected by the policy change can participate in planning and implementing it.

Why should policymakers engage in a participatory social planning process?

We've already mentioned that many federal and other grants stipulate community participation as a requirement for funding.  We've also mentioned, however, that determined politicians can bypass that requirement by appointing "community boards" that merely rubber-stamp whatever policy the politicians put forth.  In addition, community participation, as we will discuss later in this section, is a process that demands time, commitment, organization, and a good deal of work from everyone concerned.  Why, then, is it worth it to policymakers - who usually have the ability to impose their own plans - to involve the community in social planning and policy change?

There are, in fact, a number of compelling reasons, both short- and long-term:

• Community participation makes it more likely that you'll come up with policy that's effective.  Without the knowledge of the history and social structure of the community that community members can contribute, there's a risk of serious error.  Attempting to repeat something that didn't work in the past, or assuming that particular groups will work together, when actually they've been at odds for years, can undermine a community development effort before it starts.  Furthermore, community members can inform policymakers and planners of the real needs of the community, so that the most important problems and issues can be addressed.
• Community participation leads to community ownership and support of whatever initiatives come out of a social planning effort. When people have a hand in planning and decision-making, they feel that whatever plan is implemented is theirs, and therefore they'll strive to make it work.  The same is rarely, if ever, true about plans that are imposed on a community from outside.
• Policymakers - particularly elected officials - can gain politically from involving the communit y. They will be seen as respecting their constituents, and will also gain respect and credibility if initiatives they sponsor prove effective.  If they can help improve the quality of life for community members, their political capital will increase.
• Community members can inform policymakers about changes in circumstances that demand changes in policy over time.   What is effective or appropriate today may not be in five years.  Community participation puts eyes and ears in the community to pick up changes that policymakers may not be aware of, and to keep programs and initiatives from becoming outmoded or stale.
• Community participation can create community relationships and partnerships among diverse groups who can then work together.  By involving all sectors of the community, it can bring together groups and individuals who would normally not have - or might not want - contact with one another, and help them understand where their common interests lie.
• Community participation helps keep community building going over the long run.  By placing planning and decision-making power partly or wholly with the community, the process assures that those who started the effort will remain interested and involved, and not be distracted by other issues, or by changes in the political climate.
• Community participation contributes to institutionalizing the changes brought about by changes in policy.  Community members are far more likely to buy into policy that's been created with the participation of all sectors of the community.  Their support over time will lead to permanent change.
• Community participation energizes the community to continue to change in positive directions.  Once community members see what they can accomplish, they will be ready to take on new challenges. Community participation can change their attitude about what is possible - probably the single most important element to creating change.

Why should the community engage in a participatory social planning process?

While it would might seem obvious that communities and grassroots groups would want to participate in planning and carrying out policy, that's not always the case.  They may feel it's someone else's problem, or that they simply don't have the time or energy to be involved in a planning effort.  People who haven't had the opportunity to be decision-makers often find the prospect intimidating.  Because they haven't had experience in functioning in meetings, planning, and other similar activities, they feel awkward, and find it easier to let others make the decisions.  They may also feel that they have little to contribute, or that they won't be listened to even if they are at the table.

It can take time and effort to make it possible for community members to contribute. They may need training and/or mentoring in order to become comfortable with the procedures and assumptions of a participatory process . They may have the skills to participate, but need to be motivated to do so. Establishing trust in the process and the policymakers may require a lot of community organizing - door-to-door canvassing, personal conversations, small meetings in people's houses - before the community is ready to take on the risk or the burden of participation.

The rewards for the community, however, can be great. Many of the reasons for the community to embrace participation are reflections of the reasons why policymakers would want it.  Some of them are:

• Participation provides the opportunity to educate policymakers to the community's real needs and concerns.   As we've discussed, when policymakers plan a vacuum, their plans usually fail, because they don't account for the realities of the situation and the real needs of the population they're aimed at.  Community members can help policymakers understand their lives - the difficulties they face, the strengths they bring, and what they feel must be addressed.
• Participation allows community members to help create policy that really works to meet their needs.   By participating in their development, community members can see policies put in place that actually improve their lives, rather than having no effect or imposing added burdens on them.
• Participation affords community members the respect they deserve.   Rather than being seen as victims or nuisances, community members engaged in a participatory social planning process are seen as colleagues and concerned citizens working to improve their community.  They are respected both as human beings - as should always be the case, but often isn't - and for the skills, knowledge, and effort they contribute to the process.
• Participation puts community members in control of their own fate.   The participatory social planning and policy development process results in citizens deciding what policies will work for them, and gives them the opportunity to change those policies if they're not working.  It puts into practice the motto of the Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council in Chicago, founded by legendary organizer Saul Alinsky: "We, the people, will work out our own destiny."
• Participation builds community leadership from within.   Those who take part in the process both learn and exercise leadership skills, and also start to see themselves as having the capacity to be leaders.  The most important step to leadership, and to taking action to influence events that affect you, is to believe that you have the ability to do so.
• Participation energizes the community to take on other issues or policy decisions in the future, and to see itself as in control of its future.   Thus, the community development process will continue over time.
• Participation leads to long-term social change.   As community members take more control over more areas of their lives, as a result of the skills and attitudes gained from the participatory process, they will create and institutionalize changes that improve the quality of life for everyone in the community.

"Community participation" can mean different things to policymakers and to community activists.  As discussed briefly above, policymakers can pay lip service to community participation while getting around it or ignoring it.  There are, in fact, levels of community participation, and each might be appropriate at different times and in different circumstances.

When is social planning and policy change appropriate?

Unlike locality development and social action, the other two types of community organizing discussed in this chapter (see Sections  2 and 4 ), social planning originates with policymakers or their contractors.  From a policymaker's point of view, social planning is appropriate when:

• The community asks for it. A community problem may have reached the point where the community feels something needs to be done, and doesn't feel it knows what that is, or that it has the resources to do it. It may ask policymakers or an outside source for help.
• An issue or problem has reached crisis proportions, and it's obvious to everyone that something must be done.  It sometimes takes one or more specific events - the riots in many American cities in the spring of 1968, for instance, or the 9/11 terrorist attack - to set a social planning process in motion.  In other cases, however, the process may be a response to an ongoing condition ( e.g., rising unemployment, or increasing youth crime).
• There is a long-standing major issue - poverty, violence, housing, hunger, etc. - that has attracted policymakers' attention. Because of media publicity or public opinion, elected officials, agencies, or others in a position to do something about it feel the need to respond.

Extreme poverty has always existed in the U.S., but President Johnson's War on Poverty was spurred in part by the 1962 publication of Michael Harrington's book The Other America: Poverty in the United States .  The book shocked many Americans, who had been unaware of how serious the problem was, and forced the government to take action.

• There are resources made available to address the issue.  The federal, state, or local government may decide to appropriate funds for a specific purpose, for instance, or a large foundation might turn its attention - and financial resources - to a specific issue.

The Gates Foundation is currently putting huge amounts of money into eradicating various diseases in the developing world, a fact that makes it necessary to create structures for evaluating research, distributing medication, teaching prevention techniques, and otherwise spending the money effectively.

• A powerful figure - a president or prime minister, a leader in Congress or Parliament, a governor, a mayor - is concerned about a particular problem, issue, or population, and determines to do something about it.
• A strategic or economic planning process that policymakers engage in determines that a particular issue must be addressed, or that particular communities or populations need some kind of assistance.
• It becomes apparent - on the municipal, state or provincial, or federal level - that there is a general economic, social, and/or environmental downhill slide that needs to be stopped.

Social planning can be appropriate from a community perspective at all these times as well.  If the community has not already initiated some action - either to address the problem or to get help in doing so - it may need outside assistance in order for anything to happen.

Who should be involved in social planning and policy change?

Again, social planning is different from both locality development and social action. In locality development, all sectors of the population in a town or area - rich and poor, young and old, male and female, all races and ethnicities, etc. - should be represented in the effort.  In social action, the necessary participants are only individuals and organizations that represent the particular population that is working to gain power.  The number and character of the important participants in a social planning process fall somewhere between these two extremes.

For social planning to work well, both policymakers and all stakeholders should at least be invited to participate; the more are actually represented, the better. "Stakeholders" is a term that includes all of those directly affected in some way by the potential policy changes or by the issues under discussion. Some examples of stakeholders include:

• Those whom a policy is meant to benefit.
• Those whom a policy is meant to control in some way. Land use policy, for instance, may place restrictions on developers, so they should be represented in discussing and creating it, although their voice should not dominate.  They are one interested party among many.
• Those who will have to administer or enforce the policy.
• Those who work with or serve a population that is directed affected by a policy. This category may include health or human service workers, educators, clergy, etc.
• Organizations or businesses that stand to gain or lose revenue or other resources, or will have to alter their mode of operation because of a potential change in policy.
• Policymakers and public officials.

Although policymakers are usually public officials, that is not always the case. A large corporation develops and implements internal policies that may affect thousands of people. Individuals or organizations that own large tracts of land or important buildings may institute policies about their use that have an impact on whole municipalities.

How can policymakers engage effectively in social planning and policy change?

As a policymaker, you may have concerns over and above the outcomes of whatever policy you establish. You probably have to keep an eye on costs, deadlines, political fallout, and other factors that influence policy, but don't necessarily relate to whether a particular policy is workable, or whether it benefits or harms those it's aimed at.  It may be tempting to skip community participation entirely, and simply create a plan and impose it on the community.

As tempting as it is to save time and be "efficient," it usually makes more sense to spend the time necessary to have everyone involved enthusiastically backing - or at least accepting - any new policy and willing to support it when it is put in place. You're likely to be most successful if you think and behave more like a community organizer, and less like an expert who knows what's good for the community.

Community participation is an important goal for almost any community organizer, and community participation starts one person at a time. In the previous section, we describe the process for making contacts, building trust in the community, and ultimately involving all sectors in community assessment and in the planning, carrying out, and evaluation of activities and policies aimed at improving the quality of life.  Policymakers, if they're serious about community involvement and participation, should engage in that process as well.

As a policymaker, you have advantages and disadvantages in this process. You're a known quantity, so people are not likely to be confused about your involvement, but since you're a known quantity, with a reputation in the community that may not always be positive, you may be distrusted from the start. You'll have to overcome that, and convince people of your good will in order to get anything going, which may lead them to fear contact with anyone official.

For these reasons, and because you're coming into a community with an idea of what area you're going to address, the process of organizing is a little different than it might be for either locality development (Section 2 of this chapter) or social action (Section 4).  Something is going to go forward; the organizing task here is to involve the community, and particularly stakeholders, as much as possible in every phase of the effort, and to be guided, to the greatest extent feasible, by their knowledge and needs.

There's a fine line here.  The fact that people are community members doesn't mean that they necessarily have good answers to all their problems, or to the issues facing them.  It does mean, however, that they generally have the best perspective on what their lives are like in relation to those problems and issues, and on what actually happens in the community.  If you want the community to run the effort completely - and community-run efforts can be extremely effective - you may have to sponsor or provide some training for those participating.  This depends greatly on the community, but if the one in question includes many low-income residents, or many immigrants whose language or culture is significantly different from that of the general population, you may find that a lot of people need some support in order to participate fully. Once people become relatively sophisticated about what is possible and about dealing with the various systems - political, financial, social and otherwise - they're more likely to be able to find their own solutions.  A community that's already had experience in this area is probably ready to undertake an effort on its own, and might need only financial and/or political support.  One that's never had the experience, or even been offered the opportunity, will need much more. It's absolutely crucial to be respectful and to treat community members as partners, but that doesn't mean sacrificing best practices or your past experience, any more than it means ignoring the community.  It's a delicate balance, but if you can strike it properly, both you and the community will be pleased with the process and the results.

You may be working through one or more local organizations, or through a government or other agency that has a presence in the community.  Your credibility may depend on that of the organization or agency, so choose carefully.  If the only consideration is political, you may end up with a process that has no concern for community participation, or even active opposition.  (Chicago's Mayor Richard Daley got around the community participation requirement in the Model Cities Program by appointing a "community representative" board of political hacks that answered only to him.)

The bottom line is that people have to believe you're serious about including them, and you have to be serious about it. If you promise community involvement and don't follow through, or provide only token participation, whatever trust-building you've done will probably evaporate, and you'll have start over again. Once again, see Tool #1 for a full discussion of the levels of community participation, what they imply, and how and when they might be used.

How-to steps for policymakers to involve the community:

The steps below refer to policymakers as "you."  The "you" here might be the policymaker herself, or whoever has initiated the social planning process.  The actual people doing the "organizing" might be employees of a public agency, the staff of a community-based organization funded to help develop local policy on a particular issue, local officials, etc.

The same caution applies here as applies for all community organizers: make sure you're getting all sides of the story and making contact with all the people you need to.  Community leaders, for instance, may not want, at least initially, to work with gang leaders on ending youth violence, but if the gang leaders aren't involved, it's unlikely that the effort will go anywhere.  Spread your network wide, and use all your contacts to make sure you're reaching everyone, not just those that your initial contacts want you to.

• Make your goals and process clear in small meetings that lead up to a larger one.   Meet both with formal groups - clubs, fraternal organizations, sports teams, faith-based groups, participants in health and human service programs, unions and other workers' groups, classes - and with families and groups of friends in people's living rooms or similar informal settings.  Take a trusted community member with you, or make sure one is hosting or attending the meeting, to vouch for you.
• The meeting should explain clearly the issue or problem that needs to be addressed, and the participatory process by which you intend to address it. The audience should have an opportunity to ask questions, and should be asked for their thoughts on the issue, on what kinds of outcomes they'd like to see, and on how the process might take place. This is the time to recruit members of the planning group, and to ask people to pull in others they know.  Ideally, you've already gotten a train of support through the smaller meetings.  With this large meeting, the goal is to get the community at large on board and agree to be involved.

The composition of the planning group is important. It should be truly representative of all stakeholders, and that may mean you or members of the group have to recruit or persuade others to join.  People opposed to the process should be included, even though that may seem like a bad idea.  If the group establishes proper ground rules at the beginning, it should be possible to conduct productive discussion, and for those with opposing ideas to feel that the process is fair and inclusive, even if their ideas are not adopted.

• Depending upon the scope of the change you're concerned with and the level of community involvement you're aiming for, you may not need to go through all these steps.  In some cases, just keeping the community informed - through regular meetings, the media, an e-mail list - may be enough.  In others, one or two public meetings with the opportunity for community input may be all you need. If you're hoping for full participation, however, taking the steps above makes sense.

How can communities engage effectively in social planning and policy change?

As we've discussed, there are several sections of the Community Tool Box that deal with how communities can initiate policy change. When the initiative comes from policymakers, the situation is somewhat different, since the issue of community participation may not be on the planner's agenda.  So in good measure, it's up to community leaders and activists to raise the issue and make sure the community becomes part of the process. If policymakers resist the idea, and can't be swayed by logic or argument, then it may be time to switch to social action mode.  It's generally far more productive, however, if policymakers and the community can work as partners, rather than as adversaries.

How-to steps for community leaders and activists to ensure community involvement

• Get to know and maintain contact with policymakers from the beginning, so that when issues of policy arise, you'll have an open communication line.   Congresspersons, state legislators, city councilors, county commissioners, mayors aldermen, selectmen, members of municipal boards - all are concerned with what citizens think, and all are accessible at least some of the time.  If you make the effort, you can meet them and get to know them well enough so that they'll recognize you in a crowd, return your phone calls, and be willing to discuss issues with you.  When they initiate a policy change process, you'll be able to approach them about making it participatory , and be heard.
• Try to anticipate the community's policy needs, and approach policymakers before they have decided to act.   As a community member, you're apt to know more about the community than a policymaker, and to know what's needed and when. If you initiate the conversation about policy change , you may have a much better chance of initiating a participatory planning process as well.
• Equip yourself with as much information as possible, both about the benefits of a participatory process and about the issue itself.  Read the research and literature about social change policy and inclusive, participatory process.  Learn what other communities have done, search the web for best practices, etc. The more knowledge you have, the more convincing you can be.
• Mobilize the community.   Preach the gospel of participatory process to your fellow citizens, so that they'll stand with you in demanding to be involved in any policy decisions that affect them.  If it's obvious that the community wants to be involved, it is ready to put in the necessary work, and will support the implementation of the resulting policy, it will be hard for policymakers to resist.

Social planning can be an effective means of community organization and development, and of policy change, if it's entered into in a spirit of partnership with the community.  If, as either a policymaker or a community builder, you can make it a truly inclusive and participatory process, chances are that it will have long-lasting, positive results for both policymakers and the community.

Online Resources

AICP Landmarks and Pioneers . Short bio of Sherry Arnstein and description of Arnstein's Ladder and its importance, from the American Institute of Community Planners.

Chapter 14: Public Policy in the "Introduction to Community Psychology" explains how public policy interventions can bring about impactful change, how social justice issues can be addressed through public policy, and ways to get involved in public policy.

The Guide to Effective Participation . Here you will find several ways of accessing the full version of David Wilcox's Guide to Participation.

The Importance of Local Policy for Achieving Equitable Outcomes  from the Prevention Institute looks at why policy—at the city and county levels, in particular—is important to health equity efforts. It provides an overview of 4 key strategies in the policy development process.

Participation Guide: 10 Key Ideas. Arnstein's Ladder and David Wilcox's model of participation, which was derived from it.

Participatory Methods  is a website that provides resources to generate ideas and action for inclusive development and social change.

Working Upstream: Skills for Social Change  - a resource guide for developing a course on advocacy for public health.

Print Resources

Smith, B. (2006). Foundations of social policy: Social justice in human perspective. (2nd edn.) Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.  A solid general text, with much more detail on different aspects of social policy than can be given in this section. See also the extensive policy reference list.

Dalton, H., Maurice, J., & Wandersman,  A. (2007). Community psychology: Linking individuals and communities . (2nd edn.) Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/ Thomson Learning. See especially the chapter on organizing for community and social change, which describes several change approaches, including policy research and advocacy, from a community psychology point of view.

Meredith, C., & Dunham, M. (1999). Real clout: A how-to manual for community-based activists trying to expand healthcare access by changing public policy . Boston:  The Access Project . (30 Winter Street, Suite 930, Boston, MA 02108.)  As the subtitle suggests, gives readers the nuts-and-bolts of policy formation, and takes them inside the "sausage factory" of real-life legislative policy making. The results are sometimes sobering, but always enlightening.

Segal, A., & Brzuzy, S. (1998).  Social welfare policy, programs, and practice. Itasca, IL: F.E. Peacock. Another good general policy text, here focusing more specifically on social welfare.

Social Policy Essay Plan

Sociology and Social policy (33) Social policy is the actions, plans and programmes of government bodies and agencies aim to deal with problems or achieve a goal.e.g preventing crime and reducing poverty. Sociologists findings may sometimes influence social policies but many other factors also play a part, such as political ideologies and the availability of resources. This essay will assess the relationship between sociology and social policy. ====================================================================== It can be argue that social policies are one of the most applicable ways in which sociology finds its imperative uses. - many sociologists argue that sociology should be used to solve sociological problems (Peter Worsley “ a behaviour in which causes private misery or calls for collective actionto solve it”) This therefore means sociology can and should be used to investigate patterns of these behaviours and ways in which it can be resolved. The relationship between sociology and social policy according to Functionalists and Positivistssuch as Comte and Durkheim is that a rigorous objective and scientific approach should be used - In order to generate social facts which can be used by the government to develop patterns of behaviour - help implement policies that benefit the whole of society. Positivists and Functionalists adopt a positive relationship between sociology and social policy. Marxists and Feminists adopt a negative, conflicting view between sociologists and social policy. Marxists, the role of social policy is to give capitalism a “face” that appears to care for the young,poor, and elderly. - masks the legitimacy of the ruling class ideology and ensures the working class are kept physically able to continue in maintaining the capitalist means of production. Show More

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Social Policy Essays

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Category: Essay plans

Applying material from item b and your knowledge, evaluate the view that the media portray women in a stereotypical way [20 marks].

You might like to review this post on how women are represented in the media before going through the plan below.

Symbolic Annihilation

The beauty myth, women needing a partner, share this:, evaluate the view that the extent of secularisation has been exaggerated (20).

Disengagement

Counter trends

Cassonva argues that looked at globally a process of ‘de-privatization’ of religion is occurring. Some events suggest religion is important significantly: The Arab Spring for example, and the influence of the conservative new right  in U.S. politics.

Given the problems with defining and measuring religion, it’s difficult to say whether it’s ‘decline’ has been exaggerated, but on balance of the evidence it seems fair to conclude that religion has declined in Europe, but it is far from ‘dead and buried’,

Beliefs in society revision bundle for sale

Signposting

Evaluate the view that religious beliefs and organisations are barriers to social change (20), the question and the item (as on the paper).

Suggested essay plan

Arguments and evidence for the view that religion is a barrier to social change.

Functionalism

It also maintains stability in times of social change (when individuals die), and helps people make sense of changes within society, thus helping prevent anomie/ chaos and potentially more disruptive change.

The church tends to be closely tied to existing political and economic power structures: the Church of England is closely tied to the state for example: the Queen is closely related and Bishops sit in the Lords. Also most members and attendees are middle class. It thus tends to resist radical social change.

Arguments and evidence against the view that religion is a barrier to social change

Thoughts on a conclusion, evaluate the view that changing gender roles are the most significant factor in explaining the increase in family diversity (20).

Evaluate the Strengths of Using Social Surveys in Social Research (20)

Evaluate the Functionalist View of the Role of Education in Society (30) #LONG VERSION

NB – At time of posting, it’s half an essay, more to follow!

Introduction

Below I will analyse and evaluate four specific ‘functions’ or roles which schools perform according to Functionalist theory, ultimately arguing that it obscures more than it enlightens our understanding of the role of education in society.

Education and Social Solidarity

Education teaches skills for work.

POINT 2: A second function of education, again according to Durkhiem, is that schools teach individuals the specialist skills for work, which is crucial in a complex, modern industrial economy. (Schools thus have an important economic function).

Short version of this essay

R(P4) Role Allocation  

Evaluate the Functionalist Perspective on the Role of Education in Society (30)

Assess the view that poor countries will always remain poor (20).

Firstly I will review the various theories of development which have pointed to a number of different causes of and related solutions to poverty in order to demonstrate the overwhelming historical evidence against the view in the question.

Conversely, if certain things happen, then poor countries will not necessarily remain poor. Countries will develop if….

Global Development Revision Notes

Assess the View that the Family has Become More Child Centred (20)

The essay plan below has been written to help students revising for the families and households topic within A-level sociology.

The family is more child centred: arguments and evidence for

Arguments and evidence against the view that the family is more child centred, a level sociology families and households revision bundle.

If you like this sort of thing, then you might like my  AS Sociology Families and Households Revision Bundle  which contains the following:

For more advice on exams and essay writing see my page on essay writing and exam advice !

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Evaluate the View that the Main Aim of the Family is to Meet the Needs of Capitalism (20)

Functionalists argue that rather than being an ideological apparatus spreading the ideas and values of capitalism, families benefit society as a whole through the function of primary socialisation. Functionalists argue that the family socialises children into the acceptable norms and values of society and ensures that order is maintained and deviance reduced. Marxists would challenge this view arguing that society is made up of two opposing groups, with a conflict of interests, therefore they would not interpret the family as having a positive role, or society’s agreeing on a set of shared norms and values.

Samantha Putterman, PolitiFact Samantha Putterman, PolitiFact

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• Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/fact-checking-warnings-from-democrats-about-project-2025-and-donald-trump

Fact-checking warnings from Democrats about Project 2025 and Donald Trump

This fact check originally appeared on PolitiFact .

Project 2025 has a starring role in this week’s Democratic National Convention.

And it was front and center on Night 1.

WATCH: Hauling large copy of Project 2025, Michigan state Sen. McMorrow speaks at 2024 DNC

“This is Project 2025,” Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, said as she laid a hardbound copy of the 900-page document on the lectern. “Over the next four nights, you are going to hear a lot about what is in this 900-page document. Why? Because this is the Republican blueprint for a second Trump term.”

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, has warned Americans about “Trump’s Project 2025” agenda — even though former President Donald Trump doesn’t claim the conservative presidential transition document.

“Donald Trump wants to take our country backward,” Harris said July 23 in Milwaukee. “He and his extreme Project 2025 agenda will weaken the middle class. Like, we know we got to take this seriously, and can you believe they put that thing in writing?”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, has joined in on the talking point.

“Don’t believe (Trump) when he’s playing dumb about this Project 2025. He knows exactly what it’ll do,” Walz said Aug. 9 in Glendale, Arizona.

Trump’s campaign has worked to build distance from the project, which the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, led with contributions from dozens of conservative groups.

Much of the plan calls for extensive executive-branch overhauls and draws on both long-standing conservative principles, such as tax cuts, and more recent culture war issues. It lays out recommendations for disbanding the Commerce and Education departments, eliminating certain climate protections and consolidating more power to the president.

Project 2025 offers a sweeping vision for a Republican-led executive branch, and some of its policies mirror Trump’s 2024 agenda, But Harris and her presidential campaign have at times gone too far in describing what the project calls for and how closely the plans overlap with Trump’s campaign.

PolitiFact researched Harris’ warnings about how the plan would affect reproductive rights, federal entitlement programs and education, just as we did for President Joe Biden’s Project 2025 rhetoric. Here’s what the project does and doesn’t call for, and how it squares with Trump’s positions.

Are Trump and Project 2025 connected?

To distance himself from Project 2025 amid the Democratic attacks, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he “knows nothing” about it and has “no idea” who is in charge of it. (CNN identified at least 140 former advisers from the Trump administration who have been involved.)

The Heritage Foundation sought contributions from more than 100 conservative organizations for its policy vision for the next Republican presidency, which was published in 2023.

Project 2025 is now winding down some of its policy operations, and director Paul Dans, a former Trump administration official, is stepping down, The Washington Post reported July 30. Trump campaign managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita denounced the document.

WATCH: A look at the Project 2025 plan to reshape government and Trump’s links to its authors

However, Project 2025 contributors include a number of high-ranking officials from Trump’s first administration, including former White House adviser Peter Navarro and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson.

A recently released recording of Russell Vought, a Project 2025 author and the former director of Trump’s Office of Management and Budget, showed Vought saying Trump’s “very supportive of what we do.” He said Trump was only distancing himself because Democrats were making a bogeyman out of the document.

Project 2025 wouldn’t ban abortion outright, but would curtail access

The Harris campaign shared a graphic on X that claimed “Trump’s Project 2025 plan for workers” would “go after birth control and ban abortion nationwide.”

The plan doesn’t call to ban abortion nationwide, though its recommendations could curtail some contraceptives and limit abortion access.

What’s known about Trump’s abortion agenda neither lines up with Harris’ description nor Project 2025’s wish list.

Project 2025 says the Department of Health and Human Services Department should “return to being known as the Department of Life by explicitly rejecting the notion that abortion is health care.”

It recommends that the Food and Drug Administration reverse its 2000 approval of mifepristone, the first pill taken in a two-drug regimen for a medication abortion. Medication is the most common form of abortion in the U.S. — accounting for around 63 percent in 2023.

If mifepristone were to remain approved, Project 2025 recommends new rules, such as cutting its use from 10 weeks into pregnancy to seven. It would have to be provided to patients in person — part of the group’s efforts to limit access to the drug by mail. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a legal challenge to mifepristone’s FDA approval over procedural grounds.

WATCH: Trump’s plans for health care and reproductive rights if he returns to White House The manual also calls for the Justice Department to enforce the 1873 Comstock Act on mifepristone, which bans the mailing of “obscene” materials. Abortion access supporters fear that a strict interpretation of the law could go further to ban mailing the materials used in procedural abortions, such as surgical instruments and equipment.

The plan proposes withholding federal money from states that don’t report to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention how many abortions take place within their borders. The plan also would prohibit abortion providers, such as Planned Parenthood, from receiving Medicaid funds. It also calls for the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that the training of medical professionals, including doctors and nurses, omits abortion training.

The document says some forms of emergency contraception — particularly Ella, a pill that can be taken within five days of unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy — should be excluded from no-cost coverage. The Affordable Care Act requires most private health insurers to cover recommended preventive services, which involves a range of birth control methods, including emergency contraception.

Trump has recently said states should decide abortion regulations and that he wouldn’t block access to contraceptives. Trump said during his June 27 debate with Biden that he wouldn’t ban mifepristone after the Supreme Court “approved” it. But the court rejected the lawsuit based on standing, not the case’s merits. He has not weighed in on the Comstock Act or said whether he supports it being used to block abortion medication, or other kinds of abortions.

Project 2025 doesn’t call for cutting Social Security, but proposes some changes to Medicare

“When you read (Project 2025),” Harris told a crowd July 23 in Wisconsin, “you will see, Donald Trump intends to cut Social Security and Medicare.”

The Project 2025 document does not call for Social Security cuts. None of its 10 references to Social Security addresses plans for cutting the program.

Harris also misleads about Trump’s Social Security views.

In his earlier campaigns and before he was a politician, Trump said about a half-dozen times that he’s open to major overhauls of Social Security, including cuts and privatization. More recently, in a March 2024 CNBC interview, Trump said of entitlement programs such as Social Security, “There’s a lot you can do in terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting.” However, he quickly walked that statement back, and his CNBC comment stands at odds with essentially everything else Trump has said during the 2024 presidential campaign.

Trump’s campaign website says that not “a single penny” should be cut from Social Security. We rated Harris’ claim that Trump intends to cut Social Security Mostly False.

Project 2025 does propose changes to Medicare, including making Medicare Advantage, the private insurance offering in Medicare, the “default” enrollment option. Unlike Original Medicare, Medicare Advantage plans have provider networks and can also require prior authorization, meaning that the plan can approve or deny certain services. Original Medicare plans don’t have prior authorization requirements.

The manual also calls for repealing health policies enacted under Biden, such as the Inflation Reduction Act. The law enabled Medicare to negotiate with drugmakers for the first time in history, and recently resulted in an agreement with drug companies to lower the prices of 10 expensive prescriptions for Medicare enrollees.

Trump, however, has said repeatedly during the 2024 presidential campaign that he will not cut Medicare.

Project 2025 would eliminate the Education Department, which Trump supports

The Harris campaign said Project 2025 would “eliminate the U.S. Department of Education” — and that’s accurate. Project 2025 says federal education policy “should be limited and, ultimately, the federal Department of Education should be eliminated.” The plan scales back the federal government’s role in education policy and devolves the functions that remain to other agencies.

Aside from eliminating the department, the project also proposes scrapping the Biden administration’s Title IX revision, which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. It also would let states opt out of federal education programs and calls for passing a federal parents’ bill of rights similar to ones passed in some Republican-led state legislatures.

Republicans, including Trump, have pledged to close the department, which gained its status in 1979 within Democratic President Jimmy Carter’s presidential Cabinet.

In one of his Agenda 47 policy videos, Trump promised to close the department and “to send all education work and needs back to the states.” Eliminating the department would have to go through Congress.

What Project 2025, Trump would do on overtime pay

In the graphic, the Harris campaign says Project 2025 allows “employers to stop paying workers for overtime work.”

The plan doesn’t call for banning overtime wages. It recommends changes to some Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, regulations and to overtime rules. Some changes, if enacted, could result in some people losing overtime protections, experts told us.

The document proposes that the Labor Department maintain an overtime threshold “that does not punish businesses in lower-cost regions (e.g., the southeast United States).” This threshold is the amount of money executive, administrative or professional employees need to make for an employer to exempt them from overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

In 2019, the Trump’s administration finalized a rule that expanded overtime pay eligibility to most salaried workers earning less than about $35,568, which it said made about 1.3 million more workers eligible for overtime pay. The Trump-era threshold is high enough to cover most line workers in lower-cost regions, Project 2025 said.

The Biden administration raised that threshold to $43,888 beginning July 1, and that will rise to $58,656 on Jan. 1, 2025. That would grant overtime eligibility to about 4 million workers, the Labor Department said.

It’s unclear how many workers Project 2025’s proposal to return to the Trump-era overtime threshold in some parts of the country would affect, but experts said some would presumably lose the right to overtime wages.

Other overtime proposals in Project 2025’s plan include allowing some workers to choose to accumulate paid time off instead of overtime pay, or to work more hours in one week and fewer in the next, rather than receive overtime.

Trump’s past with overtime pay is complicated. In 2016, the Obama administration said it would raise the overtime to salaried workers earning less than $47,476 a year, about double the exemption level set in 2004 of $23,660 a year.

But when a judge blocked the Obama rule, the Trump administration didn’t challenge the court ruling. Instead it set its own overtime threshold, which raised the amount, but by less than Obama.

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A third of Americans plan to retire on Social Security alone, but it may not be enough to get by

• A third of US adults believe Social Security income alone will be enough for retirement.
• A financial expert advises building a 401(k) and HSA to prepare for unexpected expenses.
• A new NerdWallet report shows that the majority of Americans lack sufficient retirement savings.

America's retirees have a lot on their minds.

About a third of US adults believe Social Security alone will provide enough income for them to live comfortably in retirement, but another third said they won't have a retirement account to pull from when they leave the workforce.

That's according to a report published on August 13 by the personal finance firm NerdWallet. In July, analytics company Harris Poll surveyed 2,096 Americans over the age of 18 about their retirement plans on behalf of NerdWallet. Of the respondents, 779 were enrolled in Medicare .

Elizabeth Ayoola, personal finance writer at NerdWallet, said it can be difficult for hopeful retirees to predict how much money they'll need . Many wonder if they're building enough wealth, how long it will last, and if that money is distributed in the right savings accounts.

"Everyone's expenses are going to look different during retirement," she told Business Insider.

NerdWallet's report comes as the US faces a retirement crisis . Millions of older adults don't have the savings or assets necessary to retire from their 9-to-5s or are living from one Social Security check to another. In 2024, the average check is $1,907 , but for many, it isn't enough to get by. What's more, the federal fund could start shrinking by 2030 .

Related stories

Highly vulnerable to these retirement woes are "peak boomers," the last of the generation who are turning 65 this year — many of whom are caught in the middle of America's switch to a 401(k) system from pensions in the 1980s. Half of adults age 65 and above have an income below $30,000 a year . And, a fifth of Americans over 50 have no retirement savings at all.

BI has heard from boomers who are worried their savings won't last the rest of their lives, and others who struggle each month to afford food, housing, and healthcare. Many worry about becoming financial burdens on their adult children or suffer from loneliness .

"It never hurts to have more than you need for retirement," Ayoola said.

401(k)s can help supplement Social Security income

For the majority of Americans, Social Security is a pillar of their retirement plans. NerdWallet found that about 30% of US adults don't expect to have a savings account by the time they retire — meaning that federal benefits are many people's only option to live on.

Ayoola said it may or may not be realistic to afford basic necessities on a monthly Social Security check, depending on your lifestyle. Some people are comfortable living frugally in retirement , Ayoola said, while others would prefer to travel and have luxury experiences . There are no wrong choices, she said — as long as retirees budget and live within their means.

To best prepare for retirement, Ayoola suggests that people take the time to calculate how much money they will likely spend. She said individuals can most accurately estimate their economic needs by comparing their projected retirement savings and Social Security income with their monthly spending. Cost of living varies widely based on a person's location and lifestyle, she said.

"This can be an intimidating process — some people are scared to see in plain numbers how far behind they are in terms of retirement savings — but it can give you a lot of clarity about what steps you need to take next," she said.

For savings, Ayoola said people can start simple, with "low-hanging fruit." Even adding $50 a month to a 401(k) account throughout a person's career can make a difference, Ayoola said, because the amount grows over time with interest.

Ayoola said it's also important to have a health savings account . About 90% of Americans rely on Medicare in retirement, per NerdWallet. This federal health insurance can help people over 65 pay for prescriptions and basic medical visits, but it might not be enough to cover urgent or long-term care. Ayoola said a health savings account often has tax benefits and can help people avoid draining their retirement savings if they have a health emergency.

To be sure, not all retirees struggle to build retirement savings. Some have strong corporate 401(k) matches or a robust investment portfolio that makes them less reliant on Social Security income.

Ayoola, however, said people can experience financial curveballs —changes in health, increases in expenses, or outliving their savings. It's best to be prepared, even if that means saving a small amount of money over time.

"Although investing and saving for retirement may seem intimidating, it's really about putting one foot in front of the other," she said.

Are you living on Social Security or government assistance? Have you experienced stigma or loneliness because of your finances? If you're open to sharing your story, reach out to [email protected] .

Watch: Just the Facts – US budget: Steve Ballmer talks through the numbers

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Wait, what does 'price gouging' mean? How Harris plans to control it in the grocery aisle

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is expected to announce plans to fight food inflation with a federal ban on price gouging on groceries , but how much this would help Americans is debatable, economists say.

Over the past few years, President Joe Biden’s administration has blamed corporate greed for the surge in inflation, and Harris is expected to take up that torch in a speech Friday in North Carolina's capital city of Raleigh. Corporations raised prices when snarled supply chains during the pandemic created shortages of nearly everything, and just never stopped or lowered prices again after supply chains stabilized, they argue.

“Some companies are keeping prices high even though input costs are falling, and supply chains are back to normal,” the White House said in a news release in March.

If higher grocery prices are the result of potential mergers between larger supermarkets and food producers and corporate greed, Americans may benefit from Harris' approach. However, many economists have doubts such a policy would be effective for various reasons, including whether price gouging is the root of inflation at all.

Michael Ashton, managing principal at Enduring Investments LLC, who specializes in inflation analysis, questioned the existence of price gouging "in an industry as competitive as grocery."

“Why did the price gouging just start in 2021-22?" he asked. "Did grocers just not realize they had this power before then or did they not get greedy until 2021?”

Profit margins in the food industry already tend to be among the lowest. Net profit margin in 2023 in the grocery industry hit 1.6%, the lowest level since 2019, according to FMI, The Food Industry Association.

What caused food prices to spike?

During the pandemic, economists generally agreed supply chain shortages initially caused price increases.

After supply chains were ironed out, the dispute began. Researchers from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke separately said last year that fast-rising wages when the economy reopened was a major contributor to rising grocery prices.

However, left-leaning government watchdog Accountable.US and former Labor Secretary Robert Reich say companies have been raising prices on Americans to reward stockholders with dividends and stock buybacks.

“Consumers are getting shafted, as corporations tell Wall Street they expect to be able to keep their prices and profits in the stratosphere,” Reich wrote in June .

The Groundwork Collaborative, a nonprofit that earlier this year said "climate change, corporate consolidation, and profiteering" are reasons grocery prices remain high, even quantified in January how much corporate greed contributed to inflation. In the middle of 2023, corporate profit margins accounted for roughly half of inflation and more than a third since the pandemic began, it estimated.

“The industry keeps pushing the envelope to pad profits and bring in enough money for shareholder giveaways, but Americans are fed up,” said Liz Zelnick, director of the economic security & corporate power program at Accountable.US, in a news release.

Inflation's down but prices are high?: Prices don't drop when inflation eases. Why your wallet will be hurting for a while.

Could Harris’ plan work to lower food prices?

Opinions are mixed.

Reich, who sees corporate greed as the root of soaring inflation, advocated for a policy like what Harris is expected to announce.

“Put blame for high prices squarely where it belongs: on big corporations with monopoly power to keep prices high,” he wrote. “And take those corporations on: Condemn them for price gouging. Threaten them with antitrust lawsuits, price-gouging lawsuits, even price controls. Criticize them for making huge profits and giving their top executives record pay while shafting consumers.”

Others, like Sen. Rick Scott , R-Fla . , call the plan “federal price controls,” which he says don’t work.

Harris’ solution to fighting inflation “is big government on steroids – where Washington bureaucrats stick their hands into American businesses and say what they can and can’t sell a product for,” he said in a news release on Thursday. “It never works because it causes companies to make much less of something – destroying supply and causing a mass shortage of goods.”

Such a policy could also be difficult to implement because calculating an appropriate profit margin might be tricky, said James Knightley, Dutch bank ING’s chief international economist.

“It’s critical that we get the economic facts right and avoid political rhetoric," said Sarah Gallo, senior vice president of product policy and federal affairs at the Consumer Brands Association trade group. "The reality is that there are complex economic factors at play."

Is food inflation still even a thing?

Three in 5 Americans said corporate greed was a “major cause” of inflation, according to a poll by left-leaning polling and research group Navigator Research of 1,000 registered voters. However, that was in January when annual inflation was running at a 3.1% pace . Since then, inflation has eased further.

"When looking at the inflation story, it's good now but the perception among consumers is different because prices are still elevated," Knightley said. "We're not returning to 2019 prices," which is what consumers are comparing to.

Since inflation only measures the pace at which prices are changing, actual sticker prices remain high from climbing over the past couple of years. Inflation in the 12 months through July was 2.9%, sharply down from its 40-year high of 9.1% in June 2022 and the lowest since March 2021. Overall, annual food inflation rose a smaller 2.2%, with grocery prices rising at an even slower 1.1% pace.

“Why intervene?” Knightley said. “From an economics perspective, it’s looking like a pretty good place right now. This may be good messaging for the election, but it (inflation) may be falling by the wayside.”

Medora Lee is a money, markets, and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at [email protected] and  subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter  for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday morning.  

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Sociology and Social Policy Essay Plan

Subject: Sociology

Age range: 16+

Resource type: Worksheet/Activity

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19 July 2023

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A fully complete essay plan for sociology and social policy. For AQA Sociology A Level, paper 3.

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On Truth Social, Donald Trump Tries to Refashion Himself as Supportive of Abortion Rights

His post about “reproductive rights” appeared to be an attempt to cast himself as a political moderate on an issue that has the potential to be damaging to him in November.

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By Maggie Haberman and Shane Goldmacher

• Aug. 23, 2024

Donald J. Trump, who recently said he has “no regrets” about appointing the Supreme Court supermajority that overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling on abortion rights, declared on social media on Friday that his administration will be “great” for women’s “reproductive rights.”

Mr. Trump’s use of the specific phrase “reproductive rights” — the language used by abortion-rights advocates — appeared to be an effort by the former president to refashion himself as essentially supportive of abortion rights and as a political moderate on an issue that has the potential to be damaging to him in November.

“My Administration will be great for women and their reproductive rights,” he wrote on Friday morning on Truth Social, his social media platform.

At the Democratic National Convention, the end of Roe — and Mr. Trump’s professed pride in appointing the justices who eliminated it — was a central focus. Women told haunting, personal stories about the dangers they faced being denied abortions after the ruling was overturned, with pregnancies that were not viable and that threatened their own health.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who has been at ease discussing reproductive rights on behalf of the Biden-Harris administration, talked at length in her nomination acceptance speech on Thursday night about Mr. Trump’s role in curtailing those rights. She has framed Mr. Trump as a threat to “freedoms” — reproductive freedom and the freedom of economic mobility among them.

“I believe America cannot truly be prosperous unless Americans are fully able to make their own decisions about their own lives, especially on matters of heart and home,” Ms. Harris said. “But tonight, in America, too many women are not able to make those decisions. And let’s be clear about how we got here. Donald Trump handpicked members of the United States Supreme Court to take away reproductive freedom. And now he brags about it.”

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