美國一九九六年「個人責任與工作機會調節法案」之政策論證分析

A Study of the 1996 PRWORA's Policy Arguments in the United States

鄭麗嬌(Lee-Joy Cheng)

《中國行政評論》 8卷2期 (1999/03) Pp. 181-229

https://doi.org/10.6635/cpar.1999.8(2).07

摘要

對於社會福利一詞，美國社會存有各種迷思，在在助長了對福利的激烈爭辯。社會福利何以陷美國政治於兩難情境？社會福利方案旨在幫助窮人，何以反成問題本源？美國「個人責任與工作機會調節法案」（PRWORA）何以能在1996年通過，並一舉終結了由來己久的「應享權益」福利制度？為有助於瞭解PRWORA所涉及的道德性與價值性的爭論內容，本文採用政策論證觀點，一一審視PRWORA的政策論證結構及不同論證對相關福利政策資訊的詮釋，有助吾人暸解政策假定不同將會衍生出不同甚或衝突的福利政策主張。

關鍵字

政策論證 ； 政策主張 ； 失依兒童家庭補助金 ； 應享權益福利 ； 概括式補助金

並列摘要

There are certain myths surrounding the concept of welfare that contribute to the heated debates. Why is welfare a dilemma in American politics? Why are welfare programs, which are intended to help the poor, viewed as a problem? How was the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), which ended welfare as we knew it, finally enacted in the U.S. in 1996? The use of policy arguments can contribute to reasonable debates on the ethical and moral issues of PRWORA. In this paper, we examine the structure of PRWORA's policy arguments and their role in interpreting the relevant information of welfare policy. The results of this study explain the reasons why the same information may lead to markedly different and often conflicting welfare policy claims, depending on the assumptions used to conduct policy arguments or debates.

並列關鍵字

policy arguments ； Policy claims ； AFDC ； Entitlement welfare ； block grants