Thomas Banchoff
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801449574
- eISBN:
- 9780801460593
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801449574.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Public Policy
Since the first fertilization of a human egg in the laboratory in 1968, scientific and technological breakthroughs have raised ethical dilemmas and generated policy controversies on both sides of the ...
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Since the first fertilization of a human egg in the laboratory in 1968, scientific and technological breakthroughs have raised ethical dilemmas and generated policy controversies on both sides of the Atlantic. Embryo, stem cell, and cloning research have provoked impassioned political debate about their religious, moral, legal, and practical implications. National governments make rules that govern the creation, destruction, and use of embryos in the laboratory—but they do so in profoundly different ways. This book provides a comprehensive overview of political struggles about embryo research during four decades in four countries—the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France. It demonstrates the impact of particular national histories and institutions on very different patterns of national governance. Over time, the book argues, partisan debate and religious–secular polarization have come to overshadow ethical reflection and political deliberation on the moral status of the embryo and the promise of biomedical research. Only by recovering a robust and public ethical debate will we be able to govern revolutionary life-science technologies effectively and responsibly into the future.Less
Since the first fertilization of a human egg in the laboratory in 1968, scientific and technological breakthroughs have raised ethical dilemmas and generated policy controversies on both sides of the Atlantic. Embryo, stem cell, and cloning research have provoked impassioned political debate about their religious, moral, legal, and practical implications. National governments make rules that govern the creation, destruction, and use of embryos in the laboratory—but they do so in profoundly different ways. This book provides a comprehensive overview of political struggles about embryo research during four decades in four countries—the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France. It demonstrates the impact of particular national histories and institutions on very different patterns of national governance. Over time, the book argues, partisan debate and religious–secular polarization have come to overshadow ethical reflection and political deliberation on the moral status of the embryo and the promise of biomedical research. Only by recovering a robust and public ethical debate will we be able to govern revolutionary life-science technologies effectively and responsibly into the future.
Edward D. Berkowitz and Larry DeWitt
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801451737
- eISBN:
- 9780801467332
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801451737.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Public Policy
This book offers the first comprehensive history of Supplemental Security Income (SSI), from its origins as part of President Nixon's social reform efforts to its pivotal role in the politics of the ...
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This book offers the first comprehensive history of Supplemental Security Income (SSI), from its origins as part of President Nixon's social reform efforts to its pivotal role in the politics of the Clinton administration. Enacted into law in 1972, SSI marked the culmination of liberal social and economic policies that began during the New Deal. The new program provided cash benefits to needy elderly, blind, and disabled individuals. Because of the complex character of SSI, it provides the perfect subject for assessing the development of the American state in the late twentieth century. Supplemental Security Income was launched with the hope of freeing welfare programs from social and political stigma; it instead became a source of controversy almost from its very start. Intended as a program that paid uniform benefits across the nation, it ended up replicating many of the state-by-state differences that characterized the American welfare state. Begun as a program intended to provide income for the elderly, SSI evolved into a program that served people with disabilities, becoming a primary source of financial aid for the deinstitutionalized mentally ill and a principal support for children with disabilities. The book illuminates the course of modern social policy, delving into SSI's transformation from the idealistic intentions of its founders to the realities of its performance in America's highly splintered political system.Less
This book offers the first comprehensive history of Supplemental Security Income (SSI), from its origins as part of President Nixon's social reform efforts to its pivotal role in the politics of the Clinton administration. Enacted into law in 1972, SSI marked the culmination of liberal social and economic policies that began during the New Deal. The new program provided cash benefits to needy elderly, blind, and disabled individuals. Because of the complex character of SSI, it provides the perfect subject for assessing the development of the American state in the late twentieth century. Supplemental Security Income was launched with the hope of freeing welfare programs from social and political stigma; it instead became a source of controversy almost from its very start. Intended as a program that paid uniform benefits across the nation, it ended up replicating many of the state-by-state differences that characterized the American welfare state. Begun as a program intended to provide income for the elderly, SSI evolved into a program that served people with disabilities, becoming a primary source of financial aid for the deinstitutionalized mentally ill and a principal support for children with disabilities. The book illuminates the course of modern social policy, delving into SSI's transformation from the idealistic intentions of its founders to the realities of its performance in America's highly splintered political system.
Ruth Milkman and Eileen Appelbaum
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801452383
- eISBN:
- 9780801469503
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801452383.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Public Policy
This book documents the history and impact of California's paid family leave program, the first of its kind in the United States. The book analyzes the effect of the state's landmark paid family ...
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This book documents the history and impact of California's paid family leave program, the first of its kind in the United States. The book analyzes the effect of the state's landmark paid family leave on employers and workers. It also explores the implications of California's decade-long experience with paid family leave for the nation, which is engaged in ongoing debate about work–family policies. The book exposes the process by which California workers and their allies built a coalition to win passage of paid family leave in the state legislature, and lays out the lessons for advocates in other states and localities, as well as the nation. Because paid leave enjoys extensive popular support across the political spectrum, campaigns for such laws have an excellent chance of success if some basic preconditions are met. Do paid family leave and similar programs impose significant costs and burdens on employers? Business interests argue that they do and routinely oppose any and all legislative initiatives in this area. Once the program took effect in California, this book shows, large majorities of employers themselves reported that its impact on productivity, profitability, and performance was negligible or positive. The book demonstrates that the California program is well managed and easy to access, but that awareness of its existence remains limited. Moreover, those who need the program's benefits most urgently are least likely to know about it. As a result, the long-standing pattern of inequality in access to paid leave has remained largely intact.Less
This book documents the history and impact of California's paid family leave program, the first of its kind in the United States. The book analyzes the effect of the state's landmark paid family leave on employers and workers. It also explores the implications of California's decade-long experience with paid family leave for the nation, which is engaged in ongoing debate about work–family policies. The book exposes the process by which California workers and their allies built a coalition to win passage of paid family leave in the state legislature, and lays out the lessons for advocates in other states and localities, as well as the nation. Because paid leave enjoys extensive popular support across the political spectrum, campaigns for such laws have an excellent chance of success if some basic preconditions are met. Do paid family leave and similar programs impose significant costs and burdens on employers? Business interests argue that they do and routinely oppose any and all legislative initiatives in this area. Once the program took effect in California, this book shows, large majorities of employers themselves reported that its impact on productivity, profitability, and performance was negligible or positive. The book demonstrates that the California program is well managed and easy to access, but that awareness of its existence remains limited. Moreover, those who need the program's benefits most urgently are least likely to know about it. As a result, the long-standing pattern of inequality in access to paid leave has remained largely intact.
