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

City vs. County: Did you know?

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

Presidential Election Turnout Rates by Age (Figure 1.3)

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

Figure 1.3

The process by which policy comes into being and evolves over time.

Figure 1.4

People are the start and end of the policymaking system

Interests

Problems

Concerns

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

Characteristics of democratic societies

Majority rule

Minority rights

representation

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.