Social investment in action: From policy vision to everyday realities

This chapter seeks to define the Obama administration's vision for American social policy. It argues that Obama’s policies were based on a moderate left-leaning modernizing effort through the expansion of existing antipoverty programs, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), food stamps, Earned Income Tax Credit and unemployment insurance. The Affordable Care Act (2010) was the most significant antipoverty initiative of the Obama presidency. The administration was committed to a moderate social investment approach centered on expanding educational opportunities and generalizing access to health care, especially for low income Americans.