Teaching Ideas for Chapter 19:
Policymaking for Health, Energy, and the Environment
Inequalities in health and health care are major problems in America. The textbook points out that altogether about 40 million Americans lack health insurance. Have your students carefully read the section in the text that covers President Clinton's Health Security Act proposal. Ask students to evaluate the proposal both from an economic standpoint and from a perspective of societal need.
Ask your class to try to explain the contradiction between the high costs that Americans pay for health care (the highest costs in the world) and the fact that health care statistics show that Americans lag behind other countries in some key health care categories such as life expectancy and the infant mortality rate. Would your students make changes in the basic system, or are they satisfied with the process as it exists?
Much of the acid rain caused by American industries actually falls in Canada; officials there estimate that more than 2000 lakes have "died" as a result of acid rain. Ask your class to consider the implications of internal policies that cross over international boundaries, as happens with pollution. Should Canadians have any recourse against American industry? What would be your students' reactions be if the situation were reversed and Canadian industry polluted American waters?