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Introducing Government in America Chapter 1 Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy...
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Transcript of Introducing Government in America Chapter 1 Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy...
Introducing Government in America
Chapter 1
Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy
Edwards/Wattenberg/Lineberry
Updated Summer 2014
Introduction
Politics and government
matter!
How has the government impacted
your life?
Multiple levels: federal, state and local
A quote from President Obama (when he first ran for public office in 1993) “Politics does matter. It can
make the difference in terms of a benefit check. It can make the difference in terms of school funding. Citizens can’t just remove themselves from that process. They actually have to engage themselves and not just leave it to the professionals.”
Apathy Americans are apathetic about politics and
government. American youth are not likely to be informed about
government and politics and rarely participate in politics.
2008 Presidential election was the exception, but it’s too early to declare the death of apathy for the young
Lack of interest leads to lack of information. SO WHAT?
However……
“Young people are some of the most active members of their communities and are devoting increasing time to direct service work and volunteerism.”
Sitaram and Warren
Invisible Citizens:Youth Politics After September 11th
Why is political knowledge important? Fosters civic virtues like political tolerance
People who understand policy issues incorporate this into voting behavior (policy voting)
Promotes active political participation
Young people don’t vote. So what? Participation = benefits
It’s estimated that by 2020, Social Security and spending for the elderly will make up 51% of the domestic budget. Spending for children will be only 11%
Older people vote, thus they receive attention and funds from the government
What causes the apathy among youth? No policy has truly impacted them (draft, etc. for
earlier generations)
Watching the news is not their only option
Fewer shared experiences
Young people today have never known a time when most citizens paid attention to major political events.
Changes in technology present both opportunities and challenges
Government
Definition: Government is the institutions and people through which public policies are made for society. Congress, the President, the courts and the federal
administrative agencies (“the bureaucracy”)
Government
This definition leads to two basic questions:
How should we govern? Who holds power? Who influences policy?
What should government do? Does the government do what we want it to? What should the “scope” of government be?
What do governments do? Maintain national defense Provide public goods and
services Vocab: public good – (also
known as collective goods) cannot be denied to anyone, must be shared by everyone
Preserve order
Socialize the young
Collect Taxes
Politics Definition:
Politics is the process by which we select our governmental leaders and what policies they produce—politics produces authoritative decisions about public issues.
Laswell’s definition of politics
Who gets what, when and how? Let’s break down this definition
Who? What? When? How?
Political Participation
Definition: All the activities used by citizens to influence the selection of political leaders or the policies they pursue. Most common? Other examples?
Single-issue groups: Groups that have a narrow interest, on which their members tend to take an uncompromising stance
Linkage Institutions
Definition: Linkage institutions are the political channels through which people’s concerns become political issues on the policy agenda. They link the people to the government. They are NOT the government itself. Political Parties Elections News & Entertainment Media Interest Groups
Policy Agenda
Definition: The policy agenda are issues that attract the serious attention of public officials.
Political issues arise when people disagree about a problem and how to fix it.
Some issues will be considered, and others will not. A government’s policy agenda changes regularly.
Policymaking Institutions
Definition: Policymaking institutions are the branches of government charged with taking action on political issues. Executive (President) – carries out the law
Bureaucracies (Federal and State) Legislative (Congress – House & Senate) – make
laws Judicial (Federal and State) – interpret laws
Policies Impact PeoplePublic Policy: a choice that government makes in response to a political issue
Type Definition Example
Congressional statute Law passed by Congress The $787 billion American Recovery and Restoration Act
Presidential action Decision by the President Deploying or withdrawing troops from Iraq and Afghanistan
Court decision Opinion by the Supreme Court or other court
Supreme Court upholds citizens‘ rights to own guns
Budgetary choices Congress enacts taxes and expenditures
The federal budget is passed by Congress
Regulation Regulation adopted by federal agency
Dept of Ed issues guidelines for student loan forgiveness program
Policies Impact People
Impacts of Policies: Does it solve the problem? Does it create more problems?
Depending on the answer, policy impacts carry the political system back to its point of origin: the concerns of people.
Democracy
Definition: Democracy is a system of selecting policymakers and of organizing government so that policy represents and responds to the public’s preferences.
Components of Traditional Democratic Theory: Robert Dahl Equality in voting – one person, one vote
Effective participation – we have to have adequate and equal opportunities to express our preferences
Enlightened understanding – free press & speech Citizen control of the agenda – we have the collective
right to control the government’s agenda. It should not be controlled by any ONE group.
Inclusion – government must include, and extend rights to all those subject to its laws; citizenship must be open to everyone
Types of democracies
Direct democracy – exists only on a small scale (example: New England town meetings)
Indirect democracy – otherwise known as representative democracy. We choose people to represent our needs and concerns and they create policy for society.
Theories of U.S. Democracy
Pluralist Theory A theory of government and politics emphasizing
that politics is mainly a competition among groups, each one pressing for its own preferred policies
Groups will work together Public interest will prevail through bargaining
and compromise This competition is seen as a positive thing
Theories of U.S. Democracy
Elite and Class Theory A theory of government and politics contending
that societies are divided along class lines and that an upper-class elite will rule, regardless of the formal niceties of governmental organization
Not all groups equal Policies benefit those with money and power Belief that elites rule societies in many
arenas: government, business, military, etc.
Theories of U.S. Democracy
Hyperpluralism A theory of government and politics contending that groups
are so strong that government is weakened. Groups control policy and prevent government from
acting Difficulty in coordinating policy implementation Confusing and contradictory policies result from
politicians trying to placate every group – result is often “policy gridlock”
Challenges to Democracy Increased Complexity of Issues– it has become difficult to
know all we need to regarding government benefits, price supports, etc.
Limited Participation in Government – we don’t take our role in our democracy seriously enough
Escalating Campaign Costs – influence of PACs and money over democracy
Diverse Political Interests – too many interests, no real majority, nothing really gets accomplished (policy gridlock)
American Political Culture and Democracy Political Culture: An overall set of values widely
shared within a society. American culture is diverse and comprised of:
Liberty Egalitarianism – belief that we are all equal Individualism Laissez-faire – “hands off”, belief in free markets and
limited govenment Populism – supporting the rights of average citizens in their
struggle against privileged elites, “put the people first”
A Culture War? There is concern among some scholars that
there is sharp polarization into liberal vs conservative political cultures in America President Obama talked about there NOT being
red and blue states, just the UNITED States. Is he right?
David Horsey LA Times Red v Blue States Part 1
David Horsey Cartoon Part 2
How Active is American Government? It spends about $3.7 trillion annually It employs nearly 2.8 million civilians and 1.4
million members of the military It owns one-third of the land It occupies 3.2 billion square feet of office
space It owns and operates 400,000 nonmilitary
vehicles
The Scope of Government in America What are the differences between the parties
when it comes to the role of government in the United States?
Are the goals of the nation reached best through government action or through means OTHER than government action?
Summary
Young people are apathetic about government and politics, even though they affect everyone.
Democratic government, which is how the United States is governed, consists of those institutions that make policy for the benefit of the people.
What government should do to benefit the people is a topic central to questions of American government.