What areas of socio-economic policy can provide. Coursework: The main directions of the social policy of the state in Russia
Social politics- a system of measures aimed at improving the level and quality of life of the population. It is also defined as the activity of the state in managing the development of the social sphere of society, aimed at meeting the interests and needs of citizens.
The main objectives of social policy are:
Welfare improvement;
Improving the working and living conditions of people;
Implementation of the principle of social justice.
Social policy should take into account not only the material, but also the political and spiritual interests of the members of society.
There are the following social policy objectives that ensure the normal development of society:
1) social protection of a person and his basic socio-economic rights;
2) providing conditions for improving the well-being of each person and society as a whole;
3) maintaining a certain status of various social groups and relations between them, the formation and reproduction of the optimal social structure of society;
4) development of social infrastructure (housing and communal services, transport and communications, education, healthcare, information);
5) formation of economic incentives for participation in social production;
6) creation of conditions for the all-round development of a person, satisfaction of his needs and the possibility of realization in free labor.
Social policy expresses the ultimate goals and results of economic growth. The purpose of social policy is to encourage all forms of business activity, primarily labor and entrepreneurship. As for the results of economic growth, as it accelerates, favorable social conditions are created for citizens, their well-being grows, and incentives are created for effective economic activity. At the same time, the higher the level of economic development achieved, the higher the requirements for people who ensure economic growth, for their knowledge, culture, physical and moral development. Social policy performance indicators are the level and quality of life of the population.
Social policy is carried out at different levels of economic activity:
1) the social policy of the firm (corporation) in relation to its personnel;
2) regional social policy in relation to the regions;
3) state social policy;
4) interstate social policy related to solving global environmental problems, overcoming the socio-economic backwardness of groups of countries.
The possibilities of solving the problems of social policy are determined by the amount of resources that the state can direct to their implementation. In its turn resource base depends on the general level of economic development of the country. The world economy has entered an innovative stage of development. Its distinctive features are: high science intensity of production, continuous innovation process that requires a new level of professionalism of the human resource.
Success or failure in solving the problems of social policy depends on the stability or instability of the economic system of society.
Social sustainability suggests:
Stable price levels for basic commodities and services;
Prevention of unreasonable income differentiation;
Formation of a reliable system social protection and social guarantees for members of society.
The social policy of the state in the transition to a market economy has peculiarities expressed in:
Support for various segments of the population;
Social support for low-income citizens;
Creation of conditions for the development of entrepreneurship;
Sufficient funding for education and health care;
Caring for the protection of ecology, the environment;
Regulation of the sphere of labor relations.
Social policy in the transitional period is being implemented in three main areas. These are income policy, employment policy and social partnership policy.
Income Policy involves the implementation of measures to mitigate their inequality; employment policy consists in ensuring the conditions for the efficiency of labor activity; social partnership policy aimed at regulating the relationship between employers and employees.
In solving many socio-economic issues, the role of the market itself is great. He fairly distributes income according to the final results; increasing the efficiency of the economy, creates a material basis for the growth of the welfare of the population. The market forces producers to work for the maximum satisfaction of the various needs of people, but at the same time it cannot provide social guarantees for all members of society.
Measures for the implementation of social policy are financed by the state. Currently, there is a transition from state funding to social partnership. This means that a number of social programs to create a housing market, use the possibilities of insurance medicine, the transition of a number of social services to a paid basis are carried out at the expense of not only the budget, but also enterprises.
The main directions of social policy:
1) providing all able-bodied people with favorable opportunities and incentives for entrepreneurship and work, for earning the highest possible income through any legal activity;
2) providing certain social guarantees for the disabled, the poor and the unemployed.
The first direction includes a set of such state measures as:
Liberalization of business - freeing it from bureaucratic barriers, providing people with the freedom of entrepreneurship within the framework of the law and responsibility;
Maintaining high employment - increasing jobs, promoting vocational training, retraining, employment;
Regulation of labor relations - minimum wage, working hours, holidays, labor protection, etc.
Second direction provides for measures aimed at redistributing incomes, providing pensions and benefits to the disabled, low-income and unemployed, raising the educational level and strengthening medical care for all those in need.
Social partnership- coordinating the actions of the government, entrepreneurs and employees on the dynamics of wages and social transfers. The social partnership policy is aimed at implementing the principles of equality and social justice in the labor market. She suggests:
Creation of normal conditions in the labor market (duration of the working week, holidays, labor protection, remuneration, rights and obligations of an employee);
Ensuring the conditions for entrepreneurship (inviolability of property, freedom of entrepreneurship and disposal of income).
For a number of reasons, at the initial stage of radical economic reforms in Russia, the main emphasis was placed on the financial recovery of the economy and macroeconomic stabilization. The social sphere and its problems were relegated to the background. As a result, the population of Russia faced a sharp drop in living standards against the backdrop of increased social differentiation of society, including wages. The situation on the labor market has become aggravated, the demographic situation has worsened, an absolute reduction in the country's population has begun, and life expectancy has decreased. According to the assessment of the Federation of European Employers, Russia ranks 23 out of 29 in Europe in terms of the level of wages of workers (the assessment is given based on the results of July 2011). It is not surprising that a stable layer of “new poor” has formed in the country, i.e. those citizens who, even with a permanent job, have incomes below those necessary for a normal existence. From the foregoing, we can conclude that Russia needs to pursue a social policy aimed at achieving rational level consumption for the majority of the population, creation of conditions for qualified creative work, formation of an effective system of social protection. The state should be the guarantor of the functioning of social institutions, the preservation and development of systems of social protection of the population.
The main directions of Russia's social policy are:
I. Housing Improvement Policy.
II. Policy in the field of pension provision regulation.
III. Health policy.
IV. Education policy.
V. Policy in the field of regulating the level of unemployment and employment.
VI. Policy in the field of regulation of incomes of the population.
The practice of social policy in developed countries has developed several directions in its implementation. These include: social policy in the health sector; social policy in the field of education; social insurance; social protection of workers; wage policy; social measures in the labor market; housing policy.
I. In Russia, providing the population with housing and improving the consumer qualities of the living environment has been and remains one of the most acute social problems - it is enough to compare the number of square meters per citizen in Russia and, say, in Germany and the United States: 19, 6 m 2 versus 35 and 70 m 2, respectively, not to mention the difference in the quality parameters of average housing.
The total volume of the housing stock in Russia is 2.85 billion square meters. m (19 million residential buildings). However, of these: 62.1 percent are over 30 years old, 3.1 percent (88.7 million square meters) are dilapidated and dilapidated stock, in which more than 2.5 million people live;
More than 15 million people live in prefabricated buildings built in the 1950s and 1960s, about 40 million people live in poorly equipped apartments. The average provision of housing in Russia is 19.7 square meters. m per person. This is 2-3 times less than in developed countries (for example, Madrid - 24, Paris, London - 32, Stockholm - 40 sq. m per person).
At least 15% of the country's population huddles in housing unsuitable for life, and 12% - in principle, do not have communal amenities. In relatively favorable - by domestic standards - living conditions, that is, in a separate house or apartment with all communal amenities, at the rate of 18 m 2 per person, a quarter of the population of Russia lives.
The national project "Affordable and comfortable housing for the citizens of Russia" was largely focused on the fact that people would take mortgage loans and buy apartments. Alas, in the current conditions, the majority of citizens who counted on a mortgage will not be able to take it. Many banks have stopped issuing loans or have changed the terms of contracts due to the unstable situation in the financial markets and the problem of low liquidity.
According to experts, under the most favorable circumstances for the development of mortgages, no more than 7-8% of the Russian population will actually be able to use this financial and economic instrument. At the beginning of 2010 2.82 million families were registered as needing housing (5.5% of total number families). Over the past year, 244,000 families received housing and improved their living conditions (8.6% of the number registered at the beginning of 2010). Among them are 82.1 thousand families of participants in the Great Patriotic War and members of the families of the dead (deceased) participants in the Great Patriotic War, which is 2.8 times more than the number of families of these categories registered at the beginning of 2010, 9.2 thousand. families of combat veterans, disabled people and families with disabled children (4.2% of their number registered at the beginning of 2010).
An important direction in the implementation of the National Project is the provision of housing for young families. In 2010 the number of young families who received housing and improved their living conditions amounted to 29.2 thousand (4.3% less than in 2009), of which 10.6 thousand (more than one third of the number of young families) - living in the countryside. The number of young families registered as needing housing in 2010 amounted to 408.4 thousand (2% more than in 2009), of which 129.9 thousand live in rural areas (32% of the number of young families). In 2010 out of 10.8 thousand families of young professionals living in rural areas and registered as needy, more than 2 thousand families received housing and improved their living conditions.
At the end of 2011, 849.2 thousand citizens (families) were registered in need of better housing conditions, which is 6.3 thousand less than at the end of 2010. The waiting time in the queue for receiving social housing by low-income citizens is 15-20 years. The number of those wishing to improve their living conditions is 61% (31.6 million families). The total need for housing is about 1.57 billion m 2 (55% of the available fund). The number of young families who improved their living conditions (including with the use of mortgage loans and loans) while providing assistance at the expense of the federal budget for 2006-2010 - 181.7 thousand families.
Due to the sharp differentiation of the population in terms of income, the solution of the housing problem for the majority of those who wish is more than difficult. At the same time, not only the poor are in the queue, but also those who are able to purchase housing on their own using a loan or with partial state assistance. Sociological surveys show that 85% of Russians would like to improve their living conditions. But only 5-6% can do it right away at the expense of already accumulated savings, without applying for a loan or a loan. Most of the population, due to lack of savings, cannot buy a new house or apartment, and are forced to postpone such a purchase for many years.
II. Revenues of the Pension Fund of Russia in 2010 increased compared to 2009 and amounted to 5.14 trillion. rubles. The total volume of expenditures in 2009 amounted to 3.3 trillion. rubles. The Fund's total budget revenues in 2011 amounted to 5.14 trillion. rubles, total expenses - in the amount of 4.82 trillion. rubles, of which 2.9 trillion rubles will be directed to the fulfillment of public regulatory obligations for the payment of pensions, benefits and social benefits. rubles.
Currently, the old-age labor pension in Russia consists of three parts: basic (guaranteed by the state, and its size is established by law in the form of a fixed amount), insurance (differentiated part, depends on the results of the work of a particular person) and funded (formed only for citizens 1967 year of birth or younger).
The average labor pension in Russia after indexation on April 1, 2012 by 3.41 percent is 9.8 thousand rubles. Social pensions will increase by 14.1 percent, as a result of which the average social pension will amount to 5.8 thousand rubles.
Thus, in 2011, the average annual old-age pension, and more than 40 million people receive it, exceeded the pensioner's subsistence minimum by 1.7 times and amounted to 8,412 thousand rubles.
III. However, social services and social assistance do not have a significant impact on the general financial situation of pensioners. There are more and more pensioners, their number is growing by 600-700 thousand a year, the number of disability pensioners is growing especially intensively, which speaks not only of the aging of the population, but also of the quality of life in general. Pensioners make up a significant part of the population, savers and investors. The state, even in its own interests, should pay attention to their social well-being. In the healthcare sector, the practice of paying for medical services is becoming more common - in recent years, every second family had to pay for them on their own, we are talking not only about the traditional private dental practice, but also about paying diagnostic examinations, consultations of doctors. Paid treatment is compulsory: the level of well-being of families who are forced to pay for medical services is not the highest, and in conditions where the expansion of the scale of paid medicine takes place against the background of falling incomes of the population, many refuse treatment for financial reasons. During the years of reforms, medicines have ceased to be in short supply, but for many they are not affordable due to high prices. The pharmaceutical market is currently characterized by instability, sharp fluctuations in drug prices and their growth, with prices rising for both imported drugs and domestic ones. The structure of sales has changed towards cheaper medicines, the average check in pharmacies fell in price, consumer demand for medical products, life-enhancing products, care products and others decreased. Up to 35% of patients are forced to refuse to buy prescribed drugs. The state has introduced benefits for the free purchase of medicines, but due to the lack of financial support, this right for the majority of "beneficiaries" turned out to be formal. The situation is deteriorating, which is reflected in the gap between the officially proclaimed state guarantees for the provision of medical care to the population and real funding, in the incompleteness of healthcare reforms, and in the unsatisfactory coordination of all structures responsible for the situation in this area. The share of the population's funds in paying for medical services is constantly growing, today it is equal to the share of the state. The most difficult situation public funding- in small towns and villages where there is no broad taxable base.
priority national project"Health" assumed the reorganization of the health care system in 2 years in such a way that a standard set of quality medical services was provided to all those in need. Unfortunately, the long queues of patients at the doors of city polyclinics, which are now gathering long before they open, indicate that this idea has not been implemented in 2 years. For most medical workers little has changed. In this regard, the practice has developed when the patient is actually forced to pay the doctor for the opportunity to gain access to free medical care. And given that about 40-50% of Russians are below the poverty line, this means that a significant part of the population is actually deprived of the opportunity to receive medical care under their medical insurance policy.
In 2007, 924.8 patients with a diagnosis established for the first time in their lives per 1000 people were registered. The infant mortality rate in Russia in 2011 was 18.6 per 1,000 live births. At the same time, the decrease in infant mortality occurred in all federal districts. All this was the result of the Birth Certificate program, which currently covers 92.7% of women and newborns.
IV. In 2008 the number of daytime general education institutions has decreased, which to a certain extent is associated with a decrease in the number of children school age(according to preliminary data, the average annual number of children aged 7-17 decreased by 4.7%), while the number of gymnasiums and lyceums increased. In 2010 1302.8 thousand people received a certificate of basic general education, 719.6 of secondary (complete) education. Admission to state and municipal secondary vocational educational establishments decreased compared to 2010. by 8.3%. The number of students accepted for correspondence courses in 2011 exceeded 3.5 million. Admission to study at state and municipal universities at the expense of the budgets of all levels amounted to 1195.4 thousand people. According to the results of the Unified state exam(USE) 1566.0 thousand people were admitted to state and municipal universities.
Paid educational services to the population in February 2012. was provided according to preliminary data for 443.6 billion rubles. 28% of families pay for their children's education by contributing money for extracurricular activities. The proportion of the population that pays for certain educational services (food, maintenance, school security, individual sessions) rises as urbanization increases. In general, 60% of families with children of school age believe that they will not be able to pay for their children's education at a university.
The current system of education is gradually losing its effectiveness. The gap between the various levels of the system is widening, theory is separated from practice, the number of graduates who do not work in their specialty is growing, and the positions of Russian universities in international rankings are gradually falling.
V. Number of economically active population aged 15-72 (employed + unemployed) in April 2012 amounted to 75.2 million people, or more than 53% of the total population of the country. Of the economically active population, 70.9 million people were classified as employed and 4.4 million as unemployed using ILO criteria (i.e. not having a job or gainful occupation, looking for a job and ready to start it) during the study week).
Compared to March 2012 the number of employed people increased by 1064 thousand people, or 1.5%, the number of unemployed decreased by 502 thousand people, or 10.3%. Compared to April 2011 the number of employed people increased by 1143 thousand people, or 1.6%, the number of unemployed decreased by 1039 thousand people, or 19.2%.
The total number of the unemployed, classified in accordance with the ILO criteria, was 3.5 times higher than the number of the unemployed registered with state employment agencies. At the end of April 2012 1,254 thousand people were registered as unemployed in state institutions of the employment service, which is 4.5% less compared to March 2012.
Average age of the unemployed in April 2012 was 35.2 years. Young people under 25 make up 28.1% of the unemployed, including those aged 15-19 years old - 5.4%, 20-24 years old - 22.7%. A high level of unemployment was noted in the age group of 15-19 years old (32.7%) and 20-24 years old (13.9%). Compared to April 2011 the unemployment rate at the age of 15-19 increased by 4.0 percentage points, at the age of 20-24 - by 0.3 percentage points. On average, among young people aged 15-24, the unemployment rate in April 2012 amounted to 15.6%, including among the urban population - 14.3%, among the rural population - 18.4%. The coefficient of exceeding the unemployment rate among young people on average in the age group of 15-24 years compared with the unemployment rate of the adult population aged 30-49 years is 3.2 times, including among the urban population - 4.0 times, the rural population - 2 .5 times. Among the unemployed, 29.2% are persons whose period of stay in a state of job search (unemployment) does not exceed 3 months. 29.7% of the unemployed have been looking for work for one year or more (long-term unemployment).
April 2012 among the unemployed, the share of persons who left their former place of work in connection with the layoff or reduction in the number of employees, the liquidation of an organization or their own business amounted to 17.9%, and the proportion of persons who left their former place of work in connection with dismissal due to own will- 27.6% (in April 2011, respectively, 21.6% and 22.9%).
The lowest unemployment rate that meets the ILO criteria is noted in the Central Federal District, the highest - in the North Caucasus Federal District.
VI. The real disposable money income of the population in 2009 amounted to 101.8%, in 2010 it was 104.7%. Cash income (on average per capita) in December 2011 amounted to 31,197 rubles, which is 13.7% more than in December 2010 and 47.9% more than in November 2011. In 2011, the monetary income of the population increased by 9.7% compared to 2010.
The average monthly accrued wages in December 2011, according to preliminary data, amounted to 30,856 rubles. Compared to December 2010, the growth rate was 11.3%, compared to November 2011 - 27.0%. The average monthly accrued salary in 2011 amounted to 23,532 rubles and increased by 12.2% compared to 2010.
Real wages in December 2011 increased by 4.9% compared to December 2010. Compared to November of this year, real wages increased by 26.4%. In 2011, the growth rate compared to 2010 was 3.5%.
In the statistics of real disposable money income, Rosstat includes benefits and subsidies provided by the state. And when taking into account the real value of wages, the average inflation is laid. Given the indexation, mandatory payments are also increasing, while the growth of nominal wages is frozen, or rather, they are even decreasing. In dollar terms, the incomes of the population fell even more: taking into account the devaluation of the ruble, their decline occurred by about 35%.
Director General of the Institute for Comparative Social Research (CESSI) Vladimir Andreenkov noted that Rosstat data, as usual, show average temperature in the hospital and do not fully reflect the contradictory trends that are taking place in the field of wages in different regions and in different segments of the population. After all, Moscow, as well as other large cities, makes a significant contribution to raising the average level of wages. This offsets the extremely low income level of the population in most regions. But the main reason for the fall in real incomes of the population is a huge inflation. To some extent, employers are trying to compensate for this drop, primarily in their own interests, since there is already a tendency for wages to go into the shadows. During the crisis, the “universal law” is most clearly manifested, according to which the poor become even poorer, and the rich - richer. The most relevant now is the question of how the proportions between the layers will change. According to some of the assessments made, a number of trends are already evident. Thus, there will be a significant expansion of poverty at the expense of people who are completely or partially “overboard”, and the middle class, which has been growing quite rapidly in recent years, will also shrink. At the same time, there is unlikely to be a significant drop in the incomes and statuses of the upper middle class. At the end of 2011, the number of people living below the poverty line practically did not decrease. At the end of last week, the Ministry of Economic Development published a preliminary estimate of the number of poor people living in Russia. According to these data, in 2011 24.5 million people had incomes below the officially established living wage (6.473 rubles per month). Thus, the situation with poverty in Russia has hardly improved. Obviously, in the context of the economic crisis, accompanied by an increase in the unemployment rate and a significant slowdown in the growth of real incomes of the population, and in recent months- even with their fall, the situation with poverty can only worsen.
From all this we can conclude that social policy in Russia is not effective. At present, the number of people with incomes below the subsistence minimum is decreasing very slowly, and the differentiation of the population by income is increasing; tension in the labor market is rising, arrears in the payment of wages, pensions and social benefits are growing; there is a problem with the demographic situation in the country, since the population Russian Federation reduced; there is a problem of providing the population with housing and improving the consumer qualities of the living environment; the availability of free medical care and the quality of services provided are declining; the number of unemployed is increasing day by day; the country's education system is close to a state of general stagnation; the quality of life of Russians is at a low level. All this, especially now, during the economic crisis, requires the adoption of adequate measures through reform public life, carrying out an effective social policy of the state.
MAIN DIRECTIONS OF THE SOCIAL POLICY OF THE STATE
If the statement is true that politics is a concentrated expression of the economy, then the interpretation of social policy as a specific concentration (concentration) of all types of policies aimed at managing the existence, functioning and development of the social sphere can be no less true. The latter is a kind of system in which three large blocks (elements) are distinguished, each of which represents a relatively independent subsystem. First, this social structure society as the differentiation of people according to social and social groups and the relationship between them. In this subsystem, the degree of development of the social structure as a whole, as well as the presence of so-called weakly protected layers, is of paramount importance. Secondly, it is a social infrastructure as a set of industries that serve a person and contribute to the reproduction of the normal life of people. Thirdly, an important component of the social sphere as the degree of development of all other spheres and society as a whole is the working conditions of a person, his life, leisure, health, the possibility of choosing a profession, place of residence, access to values, ensuring the rights and freedoms of the individual.
It is the concentration in these areas that should be the basis of the social policy of the state.
1. Accounting and effective implementation of the main directions (types) social work: social diagnostics; social prevention; social supervision; social correlation;
social therapy; social adaptation; social rehabilitation; social security; social insurance;
social guardianship; social assistance; social counseling; social expertise; social guardianship;
social innovations; social mediation and asceticism.
2. Focus on the main social facilities in need of social protection, social assistance and support, such as the disabled; unemployed; participants of the Great Patriotic War and persons equated to them; home front workers during the Great Patriotic War; single elderly people and families consisting of pensioners alone (by age, disability and other reasons); widows and mothers of servicemen who died in the Great Patriotic War, in other wars and in peacetime;
former underage prisoners of fascism; persons subjected to political repression and subsequently rehabilitated;
refugees, forced migrants; persons exposed to radiation as a result of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, nuclear emissions and nuclear tests; persons returning from places of detention, deprivation of liberty, special educational institutions; persons without a fixed place of residence;
families with alcohol abusers, drug users; families with disabled children;
families with orphans and children left without parental care; low-income families; large families; families of minor parents; young families (including student families); mothers on parental leave; pregnant women and nursing mothers;
independently living graduates of orphanages and boarding schools (until they achieve financial independence and social maturity); orphaned or left without parental care children; neglected children and teenagers; children and adolescents with deviant behavior; children experiencing abuse and violence, who find themselves in conditions that threaten health and development; divorcing families; families with an unfavorable psychological microclimate, conflict relations, families where parents are pedagogically untenable; persons with psychological difficulties, experiencing psychological stress, prone to suicidal acts.
The orientation of the state's social policy along these two lines should be natural. They are closely interconnected both in theory and (especially) in practice, in the process of training social workers and in their further professional activities.
It's about here about the content of social policy, which implements social services for people in a broad sense. And this means that the state carries out (directly and indirectly) activities for socio-economic support, the provision of social, medical, social, psychological, pedagogical, legal services, social adaptation and rehabilitation of citizens and families in difficult life situations.
The social policy of the state can have different dimensions: economic, organizational, legal, actually social, cultural, ecological, personal. Therefore, it is possible to quantitatively and qualitatively characterize the social policy pursued by the state. Among these characteristics, objective criteria are most important: practical implementation social justice in society; taking into account the social interests of various groups and strata of the population in terms of the actual satisfaction of their rational (healthy) needs; and, of course, social protection, as already noted, for the poor, children, pensioners, the unemployed, refugees, the seriously ill, etc.
Let us dwell on one of the most important characteristics of social policy - social justice. Social justice is a dialectical concept, meaning, on the one hand, the degree of justified equality, and on the other hand, continuing inequality, which is determined by the level of development of society as a whole, its productive forces, which finds its concrete expression in ensuring the socially justified minimum needs of people, depending on marital status, health status, etc. This is manifested, in particular, in the fact that in any civilized society, the authorities try to control the implementation of “ consumer basket”, the need to provide each family, each person with a minimum income that makes it possible for a physiological existence and allows satisfying the most important material and spiritual needs of people. The impossibility of their implementation can lead to social cataclysms, which find their expression in the excess of mortality over the birth rate, a decrease in the population. If this is the result of not only objectively operating conditions, but also a conscious (or inept) social policy of the ruling circles, then this process is called genocide in relation to one's own or someone else's people (peoples).
On the issue of social inequality in society between groups of people, two extreme approaches can be noted. One of them comes down to the approval of the policy of inequality and its justification. The famous Russian philosopher N.A. Berdyaev expressed his attitude to this issue in the following way: “Inequality is a powerful tool for the development of productive forces. An equation in poverty would make it impossible for the development of productive forces. Inequality is the condition of every creative process, every social initiative, every selection of elements more suitable for production.
Another approach (represented mainly by the Marxist concept in philosophy and sociology) is to deny any social inequality, at least in the distant future. Each approach has, of course, its positive aspects, which cannot be denied. Therefore, it is no coincidence that they believe that the truth is in the middle. From this point of view, speaking about the position of N.A. Berdyaev, it must be emphasized: everything is good in moderation.
After all, the extreme degree of inequality can lead to instability in society, social explosions, the destruction of productive forces (and tools), and death of people. Therefore, in civilized societies political structures seek to soften social inequality, to create conditions for meeting at least the minimum material and spiritual needs of people, which is achieved through tax policy, the expansion and deepening of social work to protect the most disadvantaged segments of the population.
In times of crisis Russian society neither theoretically, nor even more so practically, it is impossible to set the task of eliminating inequality (this is an illusion). It should be about preventing its extremes, that is, about preventing the global polarization of social groups, strata and classes in order to avoid a social explosion and instability in society.
It is impossible to recognize the normal situation in today's Russia, when the social structure is dominated by marginal strata (unemployed, refugees, beggars) who are not connected with production. It is also impossible to recognize a normal situation when extreme groups in financially: super-poor and super-rich, and in the ratio (in terms of income) 1: 20 - 50 or more (according to various sources). Although in developed countries this ratio is 1: 5 - 10.
Politicians (ruling circles) understand the explosiveness of such a situation. Certain steps are being taken to prevent it. But these steps are often inconsistent, and the measures taken are far from complete and, most importantly, poorly implemented.
There is no doubt that a comparative analysis of the content of the social policy of different states, a debate about the general, particular and singular in the organization of social protection of the population in different countries will significantly enrich the theory and practice of this activity. At the same time, while learning foreign experience in the field of social support of the population, it is necessary to fully take into account the historical conditions and national characteristics Russia. We must keep in mind the already established in our country (and existing in the past) system of social security for the population (as well as, of course, the peculiarities of the culture, mentality, way of life of Russian society), reasonably supplementing it with innovations, based on the new socio-political situation. For the foreseeable future, it is expedient to maintain predominantly state assistance (services) in the field of health care, distribution of housing, etc., primarily for the poor and low-income sections of the population.
It is known that different countries have developed a different system of providing social assistance to the "weak" segments of the population. If, for example, in the United States, the emphasis is on the private sector, charitable, public organizations, then in most European countries leading role the state plays a role in solving these problems.
As far as Russia is concerned, preference should be given to the state not only because the private sector, commercial and other non-state structures were weak and undeveloped until recently (you cannot say the same about them now), but also because (and perhaps above all) that for the most part they are not civilized enough, they are criminal (take, for example, their concealment of income, ignoring the tax system).
Now in Russia, in a period of economic crisis, lack of funds, it is very important to organize targeted assistance to the most needy groups of the population (the elderly, the disabled, single families, large families). In this regard, it is necessary to develop a baseline indicator of the level of poverty. Today, this problem, as you know, is being solved for the sake of the ideological attachment of certain groups of developers.
Close attention must be paid to possible consequences mass unemployment, fraught with a social explosion, especially dangerous in Russia today. Undoubtedly, this requires an optimal approach to the problem of privatization, the timing of denationalization, and the optimal combination of different forms of ownership. This is spoken and written not only in the camp of the opposition, but also within the walls of state, official structures, the most far-sighted and "unbiased" specialists.
As foreign (and now domestic) experience shows, one of the most promising areas in solving the problems of social protection in the current conditions of Russia is a balanced combination of monetary and non-monetary types of assistance. This is predetermined (including) by the current state financial system countries as a consequence of a general, systemic crisis.
Usually social work is considered as an activity aimed at providing assistance, support, etc. socially vulnerable groups of the population. However, social work can (and should) be considered as an activity to prevent negative consequences in the behavior, in the life of individuals, groups, strata, i.e., preventive work should take a significant role in social work as a whole. greater place than it is observed now. Social policy should be aimed at this. It is necessary not only to treat "social diseases", but also to prevent them. It is better both for society as a whole and for people not to provide assistance, for example, to the unemployed, but to do everything possible to prevent unemployment, train people, develop production, create new jobs, reshape certain workshops, enterprises, institutions, etc. d. It is in this that one can see the essence of social policy as a concentrated expression of all other types of politics. It is in this that real concern for people, for the satisfaction of their vital needs and interests, is manifested. Thus, social work should be proactive, proactive.
Social policy and social work are closely interconnected. Both are characterized by two interdependent sides: scientific-cognitive and practical-organizational. Social work is a peculiar form, a way of implementing social policy, and social policy is the core, the landmark of social work. This is their unity and difference. The latter is manifested, in particular, in the fact that social policy is a broader concept, a defining aspect of social work. Social policy is a guideline not only for social work, but also for the development of the social sphere as a whole. Unlike social work, it is more stable and stable. Social work is more dynamic, mobile, rich in content in comparison with social policy. However, their unity is indissoluble. What is social policy, such is social work. The implementation of the content, forms and methods of the latter is entirely determined by social policy. At the same time, social work - activities for social protection, support and assistance to socially vulnerable strata and groups, individual citizens, the population as a whole cannot but affect (ultimately) the guidelines of social policy, its directions, goals and objectives.
EDUCATIONAL AND PRACTICAL
1. What is social policy?
2. Describe the state as the main subject of social policy.
3. What do you see as the features of modern Russian state as a social institution of society?
4. Name the main directions of the social policy of the state.
5. Expand the content of social justice as the most important characteristic of social policy.
6. What are the main tasks of social policy at the present stage of development of Russian society?
7. What, in your opinion, is the unity and difference between social policy and social work?
1. Actual problems of social policy in the context of perestroika. - M.: Politizdat, 1989.
2. Anthology of social work: In 5 volumes. - T. 3: Social policy and legislation in social work / Comp. M.V. Firsov. - M.: Svarog-NVF SPT, 1995.
3. Davidovich V.E. Social justice: ideal and principles of activity. - M.: Politizdat, 1989.
4. Kozlov A.E. Social policy: constitutional and legal foundations. - M.: Politizdat, 1980.
5. Constitution (Basic Law) of the Russian Federation. - M., 1992.
6. Popov V.G., Kholostova E.I. Social policy and social work. - M., 1998.
7. Russian Encyclopedia social work: In 2 volumes / Ed. A.M. Panova, E.I. Single. - M., 1997.
8. Social and socio-political situation in Russia: analysis and forecast (first half of 1995) / RAS. Institute of Socio-Political Research. - M.: Academia, 1995.
9. Social policy of Russia at the present stage: Proc. allowance / Ed. V.G. Popova, E.I. Single. - M., 1997.
10. Social situation in the world (comparative analysis of developed countries and CIS countries). - M.: RAS, 1992.
11. Social guidelines of a changing society: Sat. articles of the Russian Academy of Sciences, - M., 1993.
12. Theory and methods of social work / Ed. P.D. Pavlenka. - M.: GASBU, 1993. - Issue. one; 1995. - Issue. 2.
13. Theory and methods of social work / Ed. I.G. Zainyshev. - Part 1. - M .: MGSU, 1994.
14. Encyclopedia of social work: In 3 volumes / Per. from English. - M.: Center for Human Values, 1993-1994.
Social policy of Russia
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1. Goals of social policy and its main directions
Social policy is one of the most important areas component domestic policy of the state. It is designed to ensure the expanded reproduction of the population, the harmonization of social relations, political stability, civil consent and is implemented through government decisions, social events and programs. It is she who ensures the interaction of all spheres of society in solving social problems.
The purpose of social policy is to improve the welfare of the population, ensuring a high level and quality of life characterized by the following indicators: income as a material source of livelihood, employment, health, housing, education, culture, ecology.
Social policy is the activity of the state and other political and social institutions aimed at the progressive development of the social sphere of society, at improving the conditions, lifestyle and quality of life of people, at ensuring their vital needs, providing them with the necessary social support, assistance and protection, using for these purposes the financial and other social potential available to the relevant institution.
The government has identified as the main goal of social policy the improvement of the living standards of the population and the reduction of social inequality, ensuring the universal availability of basic social benefits, primarily quality education, medical and social services.
To tasks political activity includes not only the improvement of people's living conditions, but also the development of their social qualities - diligence, discipline, social responsibility, social activity, moral principles, and, consequently, the improvement of the lifestyle of people determined by these qualities.
The goals of social policy (social priorities) are:
Achievement of improvement of financial situation and living conditions of people;
Ensuring employment of the population, improving quality and competitiveness work force;
Guarantees of the constitutional rights of citizens in the field of labor, social protection, education, health protection, culture, housing;
Reorientation of social policy towards the family, ensuring the rights and social guarantees provided to the family, women, children and youth;
Normalization and improvement of the demographic situation, reduction of the mortality of the population, especially of children and citizens of working age; improvement of social infrastructure .
Among the primary goals are the elimination and prevention of further arrears in the payment of wages, pensions and benefits; formation of a system of state minimum social standards (social norms); legislative consolidation of the procedure for determining and using the indicator of the subsistence minimum, clarifying the methodology for its calculation; introduction of the tax code. It is also envisaged to increase the minimum state guarantees of wages and labor pensions to the level of the subsistence minimum for certain groups of the population; revision of the system and base of taxation of cash income in order to more equitably distribute them; creation of a full-fledged system of protection of labor rights of citizens; the beginning of a large-scale pension reform and reform of the social insurance system and housing and communal services.
In a transitional economy, the role of regions in social policy is growing significantly. The principle of social justice presupposes the alignment of regions according to the level of social development.
It is necessary to develop regional programs of employment, social protection, business support. The presence of such programs will allow focusing funds on the implementation of the most important social priorities.
Regional social policy should focus on the following issues:
Equalization of conditions for budgetary financing of socially significant expenses;
support for social reforms and social development of problem regions;
adaptation of social reforms to the conditions of the North zone. AT recent times regions make a significant contribution to solving social problems. Thus, among the social expenditures of regional budgets, the share used for material support of the unemployed is increasing.
State regulation includes a set of measures to combat poverty and strengthen the social protection of the population: increasing assistance to socially vulnerable groups of the population, providing low-income families with subsidies for housing and communal services.
The housing and communal reform being carried out in Russia is aimed at reducing benefits to the population, maintaining these benefits only for those groups of people who are unable to pay for housing. The number of persons who can apply for various payments, benefits and compensations reaches 100 million people. Therefore, with significant budget funds, going to social needs, the real help that reaches each individual person is often purely symbolic. Poverty can be overcome only if able-bodied citizens earn enough. With regard to them, the task of social policy should be to enable them to improve their well-being through their work, self-employment, initiative and enterprise. Measures are needed to stimulate investment for domestic producers in order to create new jobs. So far, the country has not created a labor protection management system that corresponds to new economic and labor relations, there are no economic mechanisms that encourage employers to comply with labor protection requirements. Social protection requires ensuring labor protection at work. There is practically no control over compliance with labor legislation in this area at private enterprises.
Under the conditions of the transitional economy, the former system of social payments and benefits that were provided throughout the life of every person is being destroyed. Instead, during this period, a new system is being created, based on market principles. Help is provided only to those who really need it and cannot earn money on their own.
It should be noted that the introduction of new principles should not exclude the establishment of a guaranteed minimum of social payments and benefits for all groups of the population. All social benefits above the minimum must be paid for by the personal income of the consumer of these benefits (as is the case, for example, in Great Britain, Sweden and other countries).
The main priorities and directions of social protection and ensuring the necessary standard of living are:
· Indexation of incomes of the population: a set of measures to increase the real consumer content of the main incomes of the population;
· Ensuring minimum social guarantees for income, most importantly - the cost of living. (“On the subsistence minimum in the Russian Federation”);
· Regulation of minimum standards and norms: minimum standard expenditures of the consolidated budget for education, health care, housing, social services, etc.
· Provision of benefits, discounts and subsidies. The main problem is their financial insecurity, therefore, at present, benefits are being transferred into the form of targeted social benefits, saving them only for the poor (housing subsidy).
· Mandatory social insurance. Compulsory social insurance is intended to compensate for material losses caused by temporary or permanent cessation of work due to age, illness, work injury(payment of pensions, payment of sick leave, unemployment benefits, etc.).
· Social security - aimed at the maintenance of disabled members of society: the elderly, the disabled, children, people who have lost their breadwinner. This system also includes social services: nursing homes, stay centers, prosthetics.
· Social assistance: is not permanent and is of a purely specific, declarative nature. The criterion for eligibility for this type of assistance is income below the subsistence level per family member.
One of the main tasks is to support those social institutions that use the most scarce and necessary for the future “human resources”, identify unique and hard-to-reproduce resources, and search for technologies for their conservation. I mean, first of all, education and science. Successful social policy is designed to create conditions for the future development of the country.
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Social policy consists of two basic areas:
- o Ensuring a decent level and quality of life for the population;
- o regulation of the labor market.
Achieving the highest level and quality of life - priority goal of the state social policy. One of the main tools for solving this problem is a constant (but economically justified) increase in the personal incomes of the population, which is understood as the totality of material resources received by citizens in one way or another.
These incomes are divided into cash and in-kind. Types of cash income:
- o for the performance of labor duties (salary, bonuses);
- o from the sale of the results of personal labor;
- o from capital (dividends, interest, profit), rent;
- o borrowed (received loans, credits);
- o risky (from playing on the stock exchange, sweepstakes, winning the lottery, etc.);
- o donor (allowances, pensions, scholarships);
- o transferable (inheritance, alimony).
In-kind income is formed by products created in households for personal consumption.
Cash income "at the source" is called nominal. If their value is reduced by the amount of taxes, mandatory payments and voluntary contributions, as a result we will have disposable income.
Disposable income arises from production activities, redistributive transactions (subsidies and transfers, except for social transfers in kind minus taxes paid and current transfers, including taxes on income and wealth), property ownership.
Citizens can use such income to pay for purchased goods and services, as well as to save money. various forms(bank deposits, bonds, etc.). Adjusting these incomes for inflation will give us real disposable income.
Expenditure on the purchase of goods and services and the value of individual goods and services received by households in the form of social transfers in kind form their actual final consumption.
The main component of the population's income is wages. Wages are paid in cash, and sometimes partially in kind (in the form of products, things, free services).
Minimal salary low-skilled workers in most countries is regulated by law. However, in some states (for example, in Russia), we are talking about monthly wages, and in others (USA) - hourly. The first approach is more socially oriented, as it provides workers with a guarantee of obtaining a livelihood for a relatively long period of time; the second is oriented purely economically.
The minimum hourly wage in accordance with the recommendations of the ILO ( international organization labor) should be at least $ 3 per hour, while in our country it is significantly lower.
The starting point for determining the minimum wage (as well as pensions, scholarships, allowances, various social benefits) is usually living wage. This is the level of income that allows you to purchase a set of goods and services necessary to ensure human life at a certain level of socio-economic development of the country and the existing needs of the population. Its value is set quarterly by summing up mandatory payments, fees, the cost of the consumer basket (the main component), as well as data on the level of consumer prices, changes in taxes by the Russian Government and local authorities power for different categories of the population.
Other guidelines for determining the subsistence minimum, taking into account the possibilities of the economy, can be:
- o average income of 10-20% of the poorest part of the population;
- o sociological surveys;
- o half of the average per capita income;
- o three times the cost of the food package (US);
- o a wider range of manufactured goods.
Consumer basket is the minimum set of food, as well as non-food goods and services necessary to sustain people's livelihoods. Usually it is developed for different categories of the population (working population, pensioners and children) and is approved by law at least once every five years. When determining the content of the consumer basket, natural and climatic conditions, national traditions, etc. are taken into account.
The minimum standards for the consumption of food products, non-food products and services are determined taking into account:
- o scientific recommendations on the minimum volume and list of goods and services necessary to maintain health and ensure human life;
- o the actual volume of consumption of goods and services in low-income families;
- o the composition and age and sex structure of the population, the size and structure of families;
- o financial capacity of the state to ensure social protection of the population.
Eight subsistence minimums are believed to provide a rational consumer budget (a high-affluence budget) in accordance with scientifically based norms.
average salary is a calculated value and is determined by dividing the total payroll by the average number of employees (or the number of man-hours worked) for the period. Like income, wages can be nominal or real. Nominal (cash) wages are characterized by the amount of money paid; real - by the number of goods that can be purchased with this money. An increase in taxes and prices in the general case leads to a reduction in real wages (even with an increase in commemorative wages), and vice versa.
In most developed countries, there is a trend towards rising wages for high-paid categories of workers and a gap in the pay of women and men (mainly stemming from the structure of employment).
Incomes of the population largely shape the level and quality of life of the population (country, region, individual social groups, etc.).
Under standard of living is understood as the totality of the living conditions of the population corresponding to the achieved state of the economic development of society. This is the degree of satisfaction of people's needs, expressed by a system of the following specific indicators:
- o average monthly accrued wages in the economy;
- o cash income per capita per month;
- o the average size of assigned pensions;
- o living wage on average per capita per month;
- o the number of people with incomes below the subsistence level;
- o the ratio of average per capita income and the subsistence minimum;
- o the ratio of accrued wages and the subsistence minimum;
- o the ratio of the average pension to the subsistence minimum;
- o decile coefficient.
Table 11.2
The main socio-economic indicators of the standard of living of the population in the Russian Federation
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Indicators |
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Actual household final consumption (at current prices): |
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Billion rubles (1995 - trillion rubles) |
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per capita), rub. (1995 - thousand rubles) |
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AT % to the previous year (in comparable prices) |
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Average per capita monetary income of the population, rub. per month), (1995 - thousand rubles) |
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Real cash income of the population, in % of the previous year |
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Average monthly nominal accrued wages of those working in the economy, rub. (1995 - thousand rubles) |
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|
Real accrued wages, in % of the previous year |
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The average size of assigned pensions), rub. (1995 - thousand rubles) |
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Real amount of assigned pensions), in % to the previous year |
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Subsistence minimum) (average per capita): |
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rub. per month (1995 - thousand rubles) |
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In % to the previous year (1995 - times) |
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|
Million people |
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In % of total population |
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In % to the previous year |
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Correlation with the subsistence minimum, %: |
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Average per capita cash income") |
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|
Average monthly nominal accrued wages |
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The average size of assigned pensions |
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|
Coefficient of funds (coefficient of income differentiation), in times |
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The quality of life population - a generalizing characteristic of the level of consumption of goods and services, the development of health care, life expectancy, the state of the environment, the moral and psychological climate, the ability of the population to satisfy spiritual needs, etc. The level of quality of life varies depending on the socio-economic situation of society.
In 1990, the United Nations introduced the Human Development Index (HDI), which combines data on national per capita income, adult education, and life expectancy. The Human Development Report of the United Nations Development Program, published on November 2, 2011, states that Russia is in 66th place out of 187 countries. The value of the Russian indicator is 0.755. Thus, the Russian Federation is included in the group of countries with a high HDI. At the same time, in the region of Eastern Europe and Central Asia (31 countries), which includes Russia, our country is in 17th place. The group leader is Slovenia - 0.884 (21st in the world) former USSR Russia is ahead of Estonia - 0.835 (4th place in the group / 34th place in the world), Lithuania - 0.810 (9th / 40th), Latvia - 0.805 (10th / 43rd) and Belarus - 0.756 (16th/65th).
In other words, it failed to transform economic opportunities into real well-being.
Consider the situation with the distribution of income in modern society.
In any society, there is a differentiation of the population according to the level of income. In many (primarily European) countries, it becomes an object of close attention of state bodies, because its excess of certain threshold values leads to an increase in tension and creates the potential for a social explosion.
Income differentiation is characterized by several tools.
First, it is the Lorenz curve, which shows how much their actual distribution differs from the uniform one (Fig. 11.2). When constructing the curve, the abscissa shows the shares of families (as a percentage of their total number), and the ordinate shows the shares of their disposable income. In other words, the curve shows what percentage of society's income is received by a given percentage of families. The uniform distribution of income is represented on the graph by a bisector, the real distribution is a concave curve. The space between the bisector and the curve reflects the degree of income inequality - the larger the corresponding area, the greater its degree.
Rice. 11.2.
Secondly, to characterize social stratification, the so-called decile coefficient is used, showing the ratio between the average income of the richest 10% and the poorest 10% of citizens. In the developed countries of the West, this coefficient is 5-7 (it is believed that a psychologically acceptable income gap does not exceed 8).
In the West, the developed countries monitor closely enough to ensure that there is no excessive gap between the rich and the poor, as, for example, in Brazil (46 times). In Germany, this gap is 7:1, in France - 9:1, while in the USA, where the maximum degree of economic liberalization takes place, - 16:1.
Thirdly, the population income concentration index (Gini coefficient). If all citizens had the same income, then the Gini coefficient would be equal to 0, and if concentrated in the hands of one person, it would be 1. The coefficient shows the degree of deviation of the actual distribution of income in society from uniform.
The dynamics of income distribution in the Russian Federation is presented in Table. 11.3.
At present, in developed countries, the social structure of the population looks something like this:
- - rich - 10-15%;
- - poor - 15-20% (poverty is the inability to maintain minimum living standards). Today, the concept of "new poor" has appeared: they include people who have access to social benefits, housing, income several times higher than the subsistence minimum, but its source is unstable;
- - middle class - 65-75%. The basis of its allocation is the level of income, prosperity. The middle class ensures the stability of society. In the West, this is the predominant part of the economically active population.
Thus, social inequality in the country continues to increase, which is a serious social problem. Apparently, in the future, as the Russian economy develops, this imbalance in income will be somewhat mitigated, which requires an appropriate policy and energetic efforts on the part of state bodies.
Along with a sharp income gap between the richest social group and the rest of the citizens, no less serious social inequality is observed in incomes between the regions of Russia. This situation violates the common economic space of our state. It should be noted that if in developed countries the share of wages in national income is 65-75%, then in Russia it is about 30%. Therefore, in our country, 1 dollar of wages produces 2.7 times more GDP than in the United States, and 2.5 times more than in Japan. Therefore, in a civilized society, the state pursues a policy of income regulation aimed at solving two main tasks:
|
Indicators |
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|
Total cash income, % |
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|
Including for 20% population groups: |
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|
First (with the lowest income) |
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|
Fourth |
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|
Fifth (with the highest income) |
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|
Coefficient of funds (income differentiation coefficient), times |
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|
Gini coefficient (income concentration index) |
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- 1) protection of socially unprotected segments of the population and easing social tension;
- 2) the development of human capital, without which the effective development of the country in the 21st century is impossible. Therefore, it plays an important role in solving social issues.
There are four groups of income regulation tools:
- 1) economic instruments (minimum wage, tariff scale and tariff rates for public sector employees, etc.);
- 2) normative-legal (taxation rates, labor and rest norms, etc.);
- 3) administrative (licensing, quotas);
- 4) conciliation (coordination of actions regarding income between the government, entrepreneurs and employees or trade unions).
Now let's look at specific ways to use them.
First of all, it is necessary to note such a method of income regulation as the determination of the subsistence minimum by the state.
The measures of state regulation of income also include the establishment of guaranteed prices for certain goods and services for certain categories of the population (pensioners, the disabled, the unemployed). A measure of state regulation of income (although, as practice has shown, not quite effective) is indexation, which involves linking them to rising consumer prices. This provides full or partial compensation for population losses. Indexing is carried out at the level of both society and individual enterprises.
Wages, savings, pensions, scholarships, allowances, etc. can be indexed. Indexation can be retrospective (in accordance with the price growth rate in the past period) and expected (to compensate for the forecast price growth). Two forms of indexing are known - automatic and semi-automatic. The first assumes that incomes rise automatically in line with the increase in prices, which accelerates it even more.
Semi-automatic indexing, also called contractual indexing, involves state level consultations with the participation of employers, trade unions, representatives of the state, experts, as a result of which recommendations are developed on establishing the lower threshold of social protection when concluding collective agreements concluded at each enterprise independently.
Often the indexing system provides differentiated approach depending on the amount of income - from full compensation of the lowest to close to zero - the highest.
Usually, indexation covers a small part of workers - mainly employed in the public sector, as well as pensioners, and is episodic.
An instrument for the redistribution of income is the encouragement by the state of private charitable activities carried out by non-profit organizations.
Consider the state policy in the field of social protection of the population.
Under social protection of the population in a broad sense, the activity of the state is understood, aimed at creating conditions that ensure a decent life for citizens (material security at the level of modern requirements, personal security, access to cultural values, the possibility of physical and spiritual development etc.). Social protection in the narrow sense of the word is a system of measures to maintain the living standards of able-bodied and disabled citizens who are in a difficult life situation and are unable to overcome it without external support. Thus, the social protection of the population can be considered both as a means of shaping the personality, and as state and public support for certain categories of the population.
Distinguish between active and passive social protection. The first is aimed at able-bodied members of society; the second - for disabled and socially vulnerable persons who cannot help themselves.
Social protection performs the following main functions:
- 1) economic - compensation for income lost due to age, disability, loss of a breadwinner, as well as partial reimbursement of additional expenses arising in connection with certain life circumstances, and providing assistance to low-income citizens;
- 2) political - maintaining social stability in society with a significant gap in the standard of living of individual segments of the population;
- 3) demographic - stimulating the birth rate, reducing mortality, increasing life expectancy;
- 4) social rehabilitation - restoration of the social status of disabled persons and socially weak groups of the population.
Those in need of social protection include:
- o able-bodied persons of working age (unemployed, unemployed, refugees, migrants, discharged from military service, women on maternity leave, child care, etc.);
- o disabled persons of working age (disabled, etc.);
- o persons under the age of working age (orphans, neglected, disabled);
- o persons older than working age (single, elderly, pensioners, war veterans);
- o other people in need of help (poor, young families with children, people in difficult situations).
In Russia, there are the following types of social protection.
First of all, social cash payments , which are divided into two groups.
- 1. Social payments, usually conditioned by the previous labor activity provided primarily by the social insurance system and financed by special off-budget funds. They apply to insured persons (the main category is employees) and are provided in case of loss or significant reduction in earnings (income), if necessary, medical care and other social services. This includes insurance payments (pensions) and insurance benefits (short-term or one-time) - for temporary disability, unemployment, at the birth of a child, as well as compensation for workers (for example, those on forced leave without pay), material assistance to the unemployed, etc.
- 2. Social payments at the expense of budgets of all levels and funds of public organizations not related to the performance of labor duties. We are talking about social assistance to the poor, benefits in accordance with the status or other grounds, such as housing subsidies, payments to war invalids, etc.
Secondly, payments in kind (free food, clothes, shoes, vehicles, fuel).
Thirdly, social services (medical services under compulsory and voluntary medical insurance, as well as social service people in difficult situations).
Fourth, social support population, providing for the provision of cash payments, benefits, compensations to able-bodied persons who temporarily find themselves in a difficult situation.
An important role in the system of social protection of the population is played by social guarantees - measures for the implementation by the state of the constitutional rights of citizens to receive the most important social benefits and services:
- o choice of place of work and professional activity;
- o the minimum wage;
- o minimum pension;
- o a one-time allowance for the birth of each child;
- o monthly allowance for the period of parental leave until the child reaches the age of 1.5 years;
- o monthly allowance for each child;
- o monthly allowance for the children of single mothers, military personnel undergoing military service on call, etc.;
- o ritual allowance;
- o minimum unemployment benefit;
- o minimum scholarship amount;
- o housing;
- o health care and medical care;
- o education.
In the USA, for example, the state implements various social programs, which spend about half of the federal budget, including unemployment benefits, medical care, etc. (37% of the federal budget); assistance to the poor - free medical care, food, affordable housing (16%). This is both a result and a condition for the high efficiency of the economy.
As a result, the listed measures of social protection somewhat reduce the differentiation of incomes of the population. At the same time, the value of social transfers in society is limited by its financial capabilities. The implementation of the main directions of social protection of the population requires an appropriate infrastructure. Its objects can be not only public, but also private.
Consider the state policy in the field labor relations and employment.
Today, in the conditions of the industrial, post-industrial, and in a number of countries - the informational stage of economic development, 80-90% of people involved in the process economic activity working as employees.
In the second half of the XX century. There have been significant changes in the nature of work.
- 1. The share of the sphere of material production and physical labor, and, accordingly, of workers, has sharply decreased, and the share of the service sector and intellectual labor has increased. In advanced countries, it already exceeds 90%.
- 2. The line between predominantly physical and predominantly mental labor is quickly blurred. It is fully preserved only in developing countries.
- 3. The educational level of the population has significantly increased. Today, all workers must have a general secondary education and vocational training.
- 4. The need for intellectualization and humanization of labor has increased.
The above circumstances leave a significant imprint on the state of the labor market and force the governments of most states to regulate it, which involves solving a set of tasks:
- o decrease in unemployment;
- o optimization of the employment structure (by industry, region, type of activity);
- o organizing and stimulating the training, retraining and advanced training of personnel. In the industry of Russia there is an acute need for qualified workers. According to some estimates, there are only 5-6% of highly qualified workers in the country, while in the USA they are 43%, Germany - 56%, France - 38%. Most of of skilled workers in Russia is close to 60 years old, which requires the adoption of emergency measures, since in the conditions of scientific and technical progress the need for qualified personnel will constantly increase;
- o management of migration processes;
- o regulation of wages and labor relations.
There are two approaches to the problem of unemployment in the West.
The first arose in connection with the Great Depression of the 1930s, when its level reached 25% in the United States, and arose real threat social explosion. Unemployment was seen as a social evil, which the state had to fight at any cost, achieving absolute employment.
The second arose due to the fact that, despite all efforts, mass unemployment (and in Western countries it is 9-12%, which, however, is 2-3 times less than in the 1930s) could not be overcome . Therefore, the concept of "natural" unemployment has arisen, which is defined as a combination of structural and frictional, which should not be fought at all. Even useful (from the point of view of the interests of employers) aspects of unemployment began to be found - the creation of a reserve of labor, an incentive for increasing labor productivity and maintaining discipline.
There is a high level of unemployment in our country as well. The state regulation of the labor market is aimed at reducing it and achieving a high level of employment. It allows you to ensure that the supply of labor in the sectoral and regional context, the demand for it in quantitative and qualitative terms.
In order to alleviate the problem of unemployment in one form or another, our state is pursuing an employment policy - a system of measures aimed at preventing layoffs, stimulating the creation of new jobs, as well as providing social assistance to people who have lost their jobs. Let's call these measures:
- 1. Organization of public works (historically the first measure; in the USA it was undertaken in the 1930s). It involves the creation by the state at the expense of the budget of new jobs for a non-competitive labor force (including for people living below the poverty level):
- - young people with incomplete secondary education;
- - those who do not have the necessary professional training;
- - disabled people with physical disabilities;
- - former prisoners; etc.
These are the following types of work:
- - creation of basic infrastructure (roads, cheap housing, schools, hospitals, street cleaning, etc.);
- - social assistance to the elderly and disabled, care for children and the sick;
- - environmental protection measures.
This is considered quite advantageous, since there is no need to pay unemployment benefits; at the same time, new goods are created, and the budget receives taxes.
- 2. Regulation of employment by:
- - official shortening of the working week;
- - encouragement of early retirement (at the same time, due to the increase in life expectancy, in many countries the question of establishing a higher retirement age is being raised);
- - immigration restrictions.
- 3. Organization of labor exchanges (appeared in the second half of the 19th century) for mediation between workers and employers. They carry out:
- - accounting and employment (refusal to work in the direction leads to the loss of the right to benefits);
- - informing employees who want to change their profession about vacancies;
- - assistance in retraining;
- - professional orientation of youth.
- 4. Creation of unemployment insurance funds. It is assumed that the amount and timing of the payment of benefits from them should be such as to lift people out of poverty and at the same time stimulate the search for work.
At the same time, it should be noted that the social sphere is currently being actively reformed and modernized, which will accordingly require the improvement of Russian legislation.