AP Government
Policy Unit
Economic Policy Making:
Government, Politics, and the Economy:
1. Capitalism –
2. Mixed Economy –
•
Economic Policy at Work: An Illustration
• Government Regulation and Business Practices
1.
2.
3.
4.
•
“It’s the Economy, Stupid”: Voters, Politicians, and Economic Policy
1.
2.
3.
4.
•
Two Major Worries: Unemployment and Inflation
1.
2.
•
Monetary Policy and “the Fed”
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
•
Fiscal Policy of Presidents and Parties
1. Fiscal Policy
2. Keynesian Economic Theory
3. Supply Side Economics
•
Labor and Government
1.
2. Taft – Hartley Act
3.
Fiscal Year
• The Federal Fiscal Year runs from October 1 of the prior year through
September 30 of the next year.
Social Welfare Policymaking
What is Social Policy and Why is it so Controversial
Social welfare policies provide benefits to individuals, either through entitlements
.
or means-testing
1. Entitlement Programs –
2. Means – Tested Programs –
Income, Poverty, and
Public Policy
Taxation
1.
2.
3.
4.
Progressive Tax:
Proportional Tax:
Regressive Tax:
Earned Income Tax Credit:
Government Expenditures –
1.
2.
3.
4.
Helping the Poor? Social Policy and Poverty
1. Social Security Act of 1935
2.
3. Welfare as we knew it
4.
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act 1996
1.
2.
3.
4.
Living on Borrowed Time: Social Security
•
The New Deal, the Elderly, and the Growth of Social Security
1.
2.
3.
4.
•
The Future of Social Security
1.
2.
3.
4.
Policymaking for Health Care and the Environment
•
The Role of Government in Health Care
1.
2. Medicare:
3. Medicaid:

Obama Care ????? Mandate? Supreme Court Decision ?
Environmental Policy
Clean Air:
Clean Water:
Wilderness Preservation:
Endangered Species:
Toxic Wastes:
Energy Sources and Energy Politics:
1.
2.
3.
4.
National Security Policymaking
American Foreign Policy: Instruments, Actors, and Policymakers
•
Instruments of Foreign Policy
*
1.
2.
3.
•
Actors on the World Stage
1.
2.
3.
4.
•
The Policymakers
1.
2.
3.
4.
Isolationism:
Monroe Doctrine:
World War I:
The Cold War:
The Era of Detente:
1.
2.
3.
4.
The Reagan Rearmament:
1.
2.
3.
The War on Terrorism:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Defense Spending
The New Global Agenda
•
The International Economy
1.
2.
3.
Unit Terms
Monetary PoliciesFederal Reserve SystemDiscount Rate
Reserve Requirement –
Open-Market OperationsFederal Funds RateFiscal Policies-
Budget Deficit-
Mandatory SpendingUncontrollablesDiscretionary SpendingNon-Discretionary spending Entitlements –
Interest payments –
United Nations –
Collective Security –