臺灣老年農民福利津貼政策之政經分析，1995-2016

Abstract

政府為加強照顧老年農民生活，自1995年6月起開始發放老農津貼，截至2015年12月止，累計發放7千4百餘億元，受益之農、漁民達1千2百餘萬人次。 老農津貼制度自1995年實施以來，即為各政黨及候選人政治動員之工具，具有高度政治性。各行為者，包括政治人物、老農及相關農民團體、行政機關等，均被鑲嵌在政策脈絡中，彼此互動著，其目的都在追求利益之最大化，因而促成政策之出現、演進與變遷。其間之政治經濟關係，及偏差動員為本研究之重點。 本文嘗試從政治、經濟、社會等面向，探討老農津貼政策歷次修法過程中，各行為者之策略行動及後續影響，發現在政策形成時期（1995-2002），在各行為者偏差動員下，陸續放寬申領資格，導致後續假農民及富農領取老農津貼之爭議；在政策加碼時期（2002-2011），政治人物競相加碼津貼，老農津貼由1995年之3千元，逐次提高至2012年之7千元，造成政府財政沉重負擔；歷經政策擴張階段後，進入政策檢討階段（2011-2016），國民黨政府挾著國會多數優勢，開始推動改革，包括建立津貼調整機制、排富條款，及提高申領資格限制等。 本文透過政經分析結果，瞭解老農津貼政策與臺灣社經環境暨政治環境之關聯性，及其偏差動員現象，藉以釐清老農津貼政策實存之問題與爭議，並試著提出可行建議。

In order to take care of the lives of elderly farmers, starting from June 1995, the Government grants a welfare allowance to elderly farmers. Up to December 2015, the accumulated elderly farmers' welfare allowance granted by the Government is around $740 billion, and there are around 12 million farmers and fishermen who benefit from the allowance. Starting from 1995, when the elderly farmers' welfare allowance policy was introduced, political parties and candidates use this policy as their tool of political mobilization. Each party, including politicians, the elderly farmers, groups that represent the interests of the elderly famers, and administrative authorities, is embedded into the political context and interact with each other. The goal of each party is to pursue maximum profits so that it may facilitate and improve the policy. The internal political and economic relationship and its mobilization of bias are the significant areas examined in this research. This paper aims to investigate the policy action of each party and how it further impacts the process of every policy amendment of the law from the political, economic and societal perspectives. This paper discovers that the qualifications to apply for the welfare allowance was easier during period when the policy was taking shape, from 1995 to 2002, based on the mobilization of bias. This led to a significant number of disputes, as fake elderly farmers and wealthy men received the welfare allowance. During the period from 2002 to 2011, where the policy was improved, the politicians successively increased the allowance. The elderly farmers' welfare allowance is gradually adjusted from NT$3,000 in 1995 to NT$7,000 in 2012, which led to heavy financial burden on the Government. In the policy review stage, from 2011 to 2016, Kuomintang Party used its advantage on having the majority of lawmakers in Legislative Yuan to push the policy reform, including the allowance adjustment policy, which increased the qualifications to receive the allowance and disallowed wealthy men to receive the allowance. The paper, through the political and economic analysis, realizes the relationship between the elderly farmers' welfare allowance policy and Taiwan's political, economic and societal environment and their mobilization of bias. Hence, the paper could clarify the questions and disputes on the elderly farmers' welfare allowance and try to provide feasible solutions.