Term
| What are the myths over the American government? |
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Definition
Created through the media...
1. Privilege of politics over policy- media glosses over policies, rarely talks about them, and highlights campaign debates and elections.
2. Supremacy of elections in determining policy change- just because a president is elected, his policies will NOT automatically go into affect, Congress can block a lot of policy change.
3. Power of state government in relation to the federal government- NO balance of power, states are only capable of what the federal government allows them to be capable of.
4. Mirage of Presidential Power- media distorts that the government is solely in the power of the president when in reality, the Congress can start and stop all action that the president wants to take.
5. Unresponsiveness of government institutions and officials- government does not do what you want, but cares about what you care about. |
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Term
| What do campaigns lack in informing citizens of? |
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Definition
| Campaigns do not tell how the president will deal with policy. |
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Term
| What are the fundamental tensions in the government? |
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Definition
Fundamental tensions are built into the system and cannot be removed, regardless of who is chosen as president.
1. Faction or party vs. political institutions: Political institutions have different interests than the parties they belong to.
-i.e. Congress vs. President: can be of the same party, but their interests and ways of making policies may conflict causing a stale in policy change.
2. Centralization of power vs. delegation: HUGE TRADE-OFF! If a government business or any organization delegates then it loses its ability to control , but gains expertise vs. if a business/organization centralizes power it gains control, but loses expertise.
3. "Extending the Republic" (AKA public input) vs. being able to do something: the more involved the public is, the less the government can get done policy-wise due to the conflicting interests and too many opinions.
4. Responsive democracy vs. problem-saving government: To solve the problems of the people then the government must listen to the public LESS. An individual's involvement in government comes with a cost.
5. Efficiency (fiscal wise) vs. reliability: government sacrifices efficiency for being reliable. It is NOT designed to be efficient because it is meant to never fail. |
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Term
| Why does the Constitution not a democratic document? |
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Definition
| The Constitution was meant to dilute public input, because the Founders feared that uninformed people would voice opinions/average American. It merely prescribes the basic institutions, their functions, and their relationships -> NOT based on substance or goals of policies, describes the process of policy making. Devoid of morals. |
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Term
| What makes the Constitution a powerful document? |
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Definition
| The power and strength of the Constitution lies in its silence and flexibility, makes the transition of power easy which creates a stable democracy. This allows the Constitution to be updated over time. |
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Term
| What are some notable factions of America's democracy that are not stated in the Constitution? |
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Definition
| the bureaucratic system, judicial review, suffrage for women/slaves, the modern Presidency, political parties, and interest groups. Basically, politics. |
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Term
| How are values implemented into the Constitution? |
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Definition
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Term
| What are multiple-veto points? |
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Definition
| They are the multiple points throughout a ratification or passing process of a legislation to become a bill/law, where the bill/law can be blocked through a veto. |
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Term
| How is political conflict passed down through a political system? |
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Definition
| Political conflict is transferred to another institution or stage of the political system which provides multiple valves for relieving the pressure generated by the conflict. This creates a stable government, because of the peaceful transitions. |
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Term
| How are individual institutions blocked from having complete control? |
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Definition
| No one institution has complete control of a segment/product/etc. because of the multiple political institutions that overlap in jurisdiction and function. (i.e. checks and balances) |
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Term
| What is the mood of the public? |
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Definition
| Public opinion, which is constantly changing or alternating. Members of government are extremely attentive to this. |
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Term
| What did Madison mean when he said, "interest checks interest"? |
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Definition
| He was referring to the conflict of interests between different institutions, this creates stalemates within policy change. |
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Term
| What does the Constitution supply the American government with? |
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Definition
| It defines the general outlines of each major institution, but it says NOTHING about the form the internal organizations of these institutions must take. Defines aspects of the interaction between institutions. Prescribes the general process, but not the objectives of government policy...NO VALUES. Provides democracy via elected representatives. Concern of individuals rights lead to amendments, which enacted values previously missing from the Constitution. |
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Term
| What is a problematic part of the Constitution, regarding amendments and the states? |
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Definition
| The last few amendments within the Bill of Rights seem to give states a lot of power. All powers not outrightly given to the federal government fall unto the states, but this contradicts the supremacy clause. |
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Term
| What amendments restricts the realm of action of the federal government? |
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Definition
| The 14th Amendment and the Bill of Rights. |
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Term
| When is federal law supreme? |
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Definition
| Any time the federal government or institution passed a law or regulation, that ruling is supreme and applicable to all states. |
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Term
| What is the American system based on? |
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Definition
| The American system is based on the rule of law, which means that policy changes by changing laws. Law changes in response to social pressure from political institutions or the public. Law takes many forms in the political system and can derive from multiple sources, such as political institutions; who have many avenues for pursuing change in the body of law. ALL laws and regulations are due to public opinion or can be traced to public opinion. |
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Term
| What websites can you go to research government accountability and congressional budget? Why are these websites regard as unbiased? |
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Definition
gao.gov; cbo.gov
These government websites MUST answer to both parties, this responsibility to the two parties forces the information to be merely information, instead of swaying the public one way or another. |
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Term
| What are the three types of interest groups? |
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Definition
Interest groups dominate American politics.
1. Pluralism- power in American politics is disperse, not concentrated. Believe that the job of the government is to represent groups in society and that the result of group competition leads to equilibrium:
*bureaucracies represent interest groups, they deliver policies to a segment of society; policy that results is a compromise between all groups.
-Pluralists assume that all groups are equally represented.
2. Hyperpluralism- agree with the beliefs of the pluralist, except that they believe the competition results in gridlock. There are so many groups in the many levels of government, who all disagree, and nothing gets done. Only policies with overwhelming support get passed.
3. Elite & Class Theory- the wealthy class dictate policies by controlling the agenda, which means they win no matter what, because they choose the policies discussed. |
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Term
| What is the change in law a product of? |
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Definition
| Of social and technological change, which means it is an ever-changing process, which affects political institutions. |
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Term
| What are the federal forms of government? |
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Definition
1. Unitary- central government holds all authority, giving none to the states. (i.e. France or Britain)
2. Confederate- the power resides in the subunits of government (i.e. Switzerland)
3. Federal- the supreme power resides in the national government. |
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Term
| What is the effect of federalism on politics and policies? |
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Definition
| Federalism decentralizes both policy and politics. This allows for variation in policies at state level and modification of policies from higher levels of government. |
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Term
| How are states "laboratories of democracy"? |
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Definition
| Different states implement different policies, then the federal government adopts the policy that works best. (i.e. Wisconsin's healthcare plan; Medicaid) |
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Term
| How does the federal government protect individuals from the states? |
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Definition
| Among states: full faith and credit, privileges and immunities (voting rights and marriage license), extradition, and interstates compacts and agreements. The federal government oversees that all of these rights are not denied by any states, as long as it is a federal law. |
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Term
| What rights are denied to the states? |
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Definition
| States cannot enter into agreement with other states or foreign nations without the approval of the federal government. |
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Term
| What guarantees the federal government's domination? |
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Definition
Implied Powers and Supremacy Clause.
*Implied Powers: federal government can rightly undertake any power to protect citizens and ensure their welfare. (i.e. states after the Revolution attempted to tax one another; internment camps implemented).
*Supremacy Clause: national government has supreme power, which makes the "powers not enumerated are granted to the states" meaningless.
-has power over the interstate commerce. |
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Term
| What are the types of federalism? |
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Definition
1. Dual Federalism (1700-1800): federal has a set of tasks and the states has a different set of tasks; the two NEVER overlapped.
2. Cooperative Federalism (during WWI): the federal government interjected itself into state matters when they were important through the use of laws, not manipulation of resources.
3. Fiscal Federalism (1970s): federal government getting what it wants by manipulating resources.
-devolution of fiscal federalism: the fed. returns policy areas that it was interested in back to the states, which angers the states because it costs a lot of money they must now raise. |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
| What types of federal grants are there? |
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Definition
1. Categorical Grants- federal government gives the states money for a SPECIFIC use; no freedom.
2. Block Grants: federal government gives states money to use for a federal goal and does not regulate how the states go about achieving it.
***ALL states and local governments rely on federal government, no exception. |
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Term
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Definition
| Means that the federal government spread the wealth around among the states, everybody gets money. |
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Term
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Definition
Kolsch Beer- Cologne, Germany
Alt (old) Beer-Düsseldorf, Germany |
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Term
| What are grants based on? |
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Definition
| Some grants are based on population, but it really depends on the issue. Needs usually places a heavy factor. |
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Term
| What are unfunded mandates? |
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Definition
| The federal government orders a state to do a specific thing, such as improve water/air quality, but does NOT provide the funds to achieve the goal. If a state refuses an unfunded mandate, then the government withholds grants until states comply. |
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Term
| What are the major functions of Congress? |
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Definition
* Purpose of Congress is to solve problems. They process policy issues and problems in parallel, opposed to serial. Issues are being addressed simultaneously, focusing on the little details --> dislike broad policy making.
-Institutionalization of latent interests in American political system. All the popular issues or concerns (interest groups) are given a physical form in Congress; institutional representation of issues within society.
- committees are concerned with the issues they are wanting to fix or policy they want to pass, they do not want other committees to make policies.
-Structure participation of interest and integrate them with the administrative machinery (bureaucracies) of government. Congress connect interest groups to committees within government, which are linked to bureaucracies that make policy in that particular issue.
-Informational hub of governing system.
-Congress chooses issues to be represented through the creation of institutions.
* Oversee the executive branch
* Major institutional locus for "refining" both policies and goals. They are meant to achieve very little reform, one of the fundamental tensions.
- focus on little details
- want to fix problems at the margin |
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Term
| What are the jobs of the President? |
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Definition
* Bureaucrat in Chief --> Boss of Bureaucracy
* Implementing, as opposed to executing, public policy. This gives the President latitude to pass laws created by Congress.
- President must instruct the Department of Justice to enforce the decision reached by the Courts.
* vast power for coordination policy across disparate issue, integrates different political issues.
* policymaking at the BROADEST level, does not have time to look at the small details, is looking for big reform.
- constantly conflicting with Congress
* Head of state and dominates foreign policy (constitutional power), but Senate must approve. |
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Term
| What has led to the increase in power of the modern Presidency? |
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Definition
1. Necessity- today's society could not function without a strong and powerful head of state to integrate different political issues.
2. the Public- gives power to the President |
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