Where is the popular mandate? A reply to conventional wisdom

Area of Science:

• Public Health Policy
• Health Economics
• Social Policy

Background:

• Current federal policies involve significant cuts to health programs and social services, alongside deregulation.
• These policy changes are often justified as a response to public demand for reduced government spending and intervention.
• A perceived tax revolt in the late seventies is also cited as a driver for these fiscal adjustments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the discrepancy between stated policy rationales and actual public opinion regarding government involvement in health and social welfare.
• To determine if current federal policies align with the expressed desires of the North American populace.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of public opinion data from leading polls conducted between 1977 and 1982.
• Comparison of poll findings with the direction of federal policies concerning health, education, and social care expenditures and regulations.

Main Results:

• Poll evidence consistently shows sustained public support for government programs in health and education.
• The public favored continued or increased government support for the poor, elderly, and handicapped.
• There was also significant public backing for strengthening, not weakening, government regulations in health and medical care.

Conclusions:

• The implemented federal policies, characterized by spending cuts and deregulation, do not reflect a popular mandate.
• Public opinion data suggests a mandate for increased, not decreased, government intervention and funding in health and social services.
• The policies enacted by the Reagan Administration appear to contradict the prevailing public will as indicated by opinion polls from the period.