Custom «American Social Policies» Essay Paper Sample

In the United States of America social policies tend to affect various race and class groups differently. The key driver of such a negative effect is the influence of different interest groups during the policy formulation process. In a bid to address the needs of each race and class, the policies end up being skewed in favor of one group. Particularly in California, this aspect can be seen in the policies governing the State’s educational budget and tax benefits.

California’s educational budget is not well balanced to promote equality in educational standards. Usually the distribution of schools is such that there are schools belonging to suburban and urban neighborhoods. There is a distinct racial composition in these neighborhoods. Schools belonging to suburban neighborhoods tend to be predominantly white, while schools belonging to urban neighborhoods tend to be predominantly black. Nevertheless, during allocation of the school budget, a huge chunk of the budget goes to suburban schools, while urban schools receive the minimum. As a result, students in suburban schools, mostly white, end up getting better educational outcomes than their urban counterparts.

The provision of tax benefits is another critical social policy issue in California. The formulated policies tend to give better tax cuts to members of the population who are earning better salaries. There is a distinct class disparity in California, which is caused by various socio-economic issues. The best mechanism to address class disparities is through the provision of tax benefits based on a family’s earning level. However, the tax benefit policies formulated in California tend to favor members of the upper and upper-middle class families. This leaves middle and lower class families with higher financial burdens than their rich counterparts. As a result, such policies increase class stratification in the society.

Race and class are the most critical issues in the American society since they play the greatest role in promoting disintegration among members of the population. The situation in California is a mere reflection of the grave situation in America. In essence, the educational budget and tax benefits policies should not be favoring one class or race over another; instead, they should provide an equal opportunity for all American citizens.