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Question 1

what is government?

Answer 1

government is the institutions that make public policy decisions for a society

different levels of a government

-federal/or national (three branches)

-state

-local

questions raised:

how should we govern?

-democratic government

what should government do?

government should:

collect taxes

provide for the national defense To protect their sovereign territory and their citizenry and to provide national defense.

preserve order and stability.

preserve order by providing emergency services and security in the wake of disasters. Governments also maintain stability by providing a political structure that haslegitimacy:a quality conferred on

government by citizens who believe that its exercise of power is right and proper

provide public goods and services

socialize the young

To establish and maintain a legal system.

Question 2

How do we balance governmental power and individual rights?

Answer 2

politics - is the struggle over who gets what, when and how?

-determines who we select as our government leaders

-and the policies the leaders pursue

Question 3

politics

Answer 3

• is the struggle over who gets what, when and how?

-what: policies passed (taxes, programs)

-who: citizens, political parties, candidates

-how: voting, lobbying, protesting

political participation: ways people get more involved in politics

-more than just voting

-but voting is HELLA importaNT:

PROBLEM: voter apathy

. Voter apathyamongst young people:

VOTE

– Huge disparity between those under 30 and those over 65 years old

– **Come on students….handle this

Why:**

– Older voters mobilized around issues such as Social Security (1935/ New Deal, Medicare/Great Society) that directly impact them

Single-issue groups: indiviuduals who support a candidate due to their positon on a particular issue.

Question 4

THE POLICYMAKING SYSTEM

Answer 4

Process by which policy comes into being and evolves over time.

1.People

interest policies and concerns

2.Linkage institutions

parties, elections, media, interest groups

3.Policy agenda

political issues

4.Policymaking institutions

Congress(legislative)

Presidency(executive)

Courts

bureaucracy

5. Policy
   1) People shape policy → Policies impact people

Citizens interests are expressed through:

political parties, elections, interests groups, and the media.

Democracy in action

– Voting, political parties,

interest groups, protest, etc.

2)LINKAGE INSTITUTIONS:The way people get their concerns, problems, and interests transmitted to government policymakers

Examples of linkage institutions: Political parties, elections, interest groups, mass media

1) People →2) linkage institutions→ 3) policy agenda

Question 5

Linkage institutions shape the government’spolicy agenda

Answer 5

– 3)Policy agenda: The issues that attract the attention of public officials

Prepare to have your mind blown!

• People do not always agree on what the government should do!

– This becomes a political issue

– Political issueis the result of disagreement about a problem or about the public policy to fix it

1) People→ 2) linkage institutions→3) policy agenda→ 4) POLICYMAKING INSTITUTIONS

U.S.Constitution created 3policymaking institutions

1.Legislative: Congress (Senate and House of Representatives)

2.Executive: President

3.Judicial: Courts

As government has expanded, various federal agencies (bureaucracy)

Question 6

ery few policies are made by a single policymaking institution

Answer 6

Goal of our system ofchecks and balances

Question 7

PUBLIC POLICY

Answer 7

5)Policiesimpact people

– Policies must have a goal to be

effective

Policies the government makes

arepublic policy

Forms of public policy:

**– Statues or laws

– Presidential actions

**– Court decisions

– Budgetary choices

**– Regulations

Policy impactsare the effects that a policy has on people and problems in society.

Question 8

democracy

Answer 8

• Government by the people
• It is the system we use to select policymakers and the way oforganizing the government
• U.S. is arepresentative democracy: we elect representatives tovote on policy issues
• People select policymakers and organize a government to reflectpolicy preferences of the citizenry

Key principles of the democratic process:

• –Effective participation: everyone has equalchance to influence policy agenda
• –Enlightened understanding: Free speech and freedom of press
• –Equality in voting: one person, one vote
• –Citizen control of the agenda: no one groupshould control the policy agenda
• –Inclusion: access to citizenship for all residents of a democratic nation

The idea that, in a democracy, the government’s power derives from the consent of the people is called theconsent of the governed.

As we have seen, this concept, a focal point of the rebellious American colonists and eloquently expressed in Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence, is based on John Locke’s idea of a social contract.

Implicit in Locke’s social contract is the principle that the people agree to the government’s authority, and if the government no longer has the consent of the governed, the people have the right to revolt.

Majority rule:

-U.S. is arepresentative democracy: we elect

representatives to vote on policy issues

The concept of consent of the governed also impliesmajority rule—the principle that, in a democracy, only policies with 50 percent plus one vote are enacted.

Governments based on majority rule include the idea that the majority has the right of self-governance and typically also protect the rights of people in the minority.

Minority Rights:

– Democracies reflectmajority rule, but the basic rights and liberties ofminoritiesmust also be protected