Introducing Government
In America
Government
Policy Agenda
Representation
Public Goods
Political Issue
Pluralist Theory
Politics
Policymaking Institutions
Elite and Class Theory
Political Participation
Public Policy
Hyperpluralism
Single-Issue Groups
Democracy
Policy Gridlock
Policy Making System
Majority Rules
Gross Domestic Product
Linkage Institution
Minority Rights
Individualism
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What is government?
Why is government needed?
What type of government is “best?”
What can/should you do if you disagree with
your government?
How did we get the government we have?
How does our government function?
Who/how is our government run today?
“Young people are some of the most active members of their communities and are
devoting increasing amounts of their time to direct service work and
volunteerism.”
Previn Warren
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Why is it that young people seem indifferent about getting involved in politics?
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Young citizens are some of the most caring, compassionate members of our society
They want the world/country to be “fair”
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A HUGE gap between the young (18-25) and old (65+) in political involvement
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Young people are less likely to be informed about politics and government
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Young people are less likely to vote
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Schools
▪ US – ban discrimination, no religion in schools, school lunch
requirements
▪ State/Local – graduation requirements, teacher certification
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Jobs
▪ US – employment standards (minimum wage, no
discrimination), SS#
▪ State/Local – minimum wage, hours worked as student,
licensing requirements
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Other
▪ US – taxes, sign up for draft, ??drinking age,?? speed limits, no
discrimination, student aide for college
▪ State/Local – same,
READ: p. 3-10
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How should we govern
▪ Who holds the power and who influences the policies?
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What should government do?
maintain a national defense
provide public services
preserve order
socialize the young
collect taxes
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Who we select as our leaders and what policies
they enact
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“Who gets what, when and how”
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▪ WHO: voters, candidates, groups and parties
▪ WHAT: substance of politics and government
▪ HOW: participation of the people (voting, supporting, compromising,
lobbying, etc)
Political Participation (getting involved)
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Voting
Running/Holding office
Single Issue Groups
Involvement in party politics (campaigns)
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People expect their government to do something about their problems
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Voters will penalize them at the polls if they do not
Public Policy tries to translate people’s desires into effect action
The system used to enact policy shows the government responding to
people’s concerns and evolving as they go
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LINKAGE INSTITUTIONS: organizations that enable voters to
directly or indirectly influence public policy
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POLICY AGENDA: Issues presented for public policy. Usually the
majority party sets the direction for POLICY AGENDAS
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POLITICAL ISSUE: When people disagree or something needs to
be fixed, it becomes a political issue that needs to be discussed, debated
and compromised. Government rarely acts until a POLITICAL ISSUE is
high on the POLICY AGENDA
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POLICY MAKING INSTITUTIONS:
Established by the US
Constitution, these institutions have the power to enact public policy.
Congress, the Presidency, the Supreme Court. Very few policies are
made by a single policy making institution
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Every decision that government makes is a PUBLIC POLICY
▪ Every law, every budget passed, every court ruling, every presidential action
TYPE
DEFINITION
EXAMPLE
Congressional Statute
Law passed by Congress
Social Security Act
Presidential Action
Decision by the President
U.S. troops removed from
Iraq and Afghanistan
Court Decision
Opinion by Supreme Court
School Segregation is
unconstitutional
Budgetary Choices
Legislative enactment of
taxes and expenditures
The Federal Budget
Regulation
Agency adoption of
regulations
Food and Drug Admin.
Approval of a new drug
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Action vs. Inaction
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Inaction:
▪ Segregation after the Civil War
▪ Fight against HIV/AIDS
▪ Federal Funding of Abortion
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Policies affect people’s lives
Policies have specific goals
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Cut poverty
Reduce crime
Clean environment
Get economy back on track
Different parts of the world define democracy differently
Democracy is a means of selecting policymakers and of
organizing government so that policy reflects citizens’
preferences
 Today we equate democracy with equality, freedom, justice
and peace
 Writers of our Constitution were not fond of the idea of
“democracy” because they doubted the ability of ordinary
Americans to make informed choices on what the
government should do
 America views democracy as a government “By the People”
but what we really have is a REPUBLIC which is a
government FOR THE PEOPLE
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Equality in Voting - “One Person One Vote”
▪ Need not be universal, but needs to be representative
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Effective Participation - Citizens must have adequate and equal
opportunities to express their opinions
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Enlightened Understanding - A marketplace of ideas
▪ Free Press, Free Speech
▪ No one group can monopolize or distort information
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Citizen Control of the Agenda - Collectively control agenda
▪ Wealthy or powerful cannot control the agenda
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Inclusion - Government must include and extend rights to all subjected
to its laws
▪ Majority Rules/Minority Rights
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Pluralist Theory – groups with shared interests influence public policy by
pressing their concerns through organized efforts. (NRA, NOW, UAW, Tea Party)
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Elite and Class Theory – our society is divided along class lines and that
the upper class controls the government. Wealth is the basis of power. Who is
elected isn’t really all that important.
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Hyperpluralist Theory – Interest groups get so strong that government
is threatened. Often to the point of inability to pass policy (gridlock). If the
government tries to placate all groups, nothing will be accomplished
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Increased Technical Expertise – as human knowledge expands, it
becomes difficult for ordinary citizens to make informed choices
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Limited Participation in Government – without adequate
participation, democracy is threatened. It becomes the voice of the few, ruling
over the many
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Escalating Campaign Costs – Candidates either spend a huge amount of
time raising money for campaigning or must rely on PAC’s (political action
committees). PAC’s expect something in return for their investments.
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Diverse Political Interests – Many not have enough strength to make
policy, but do have enough power to block others from making policy (gridlock).
This problem is real and is magnified when the voters pick a president of one
party and one or both houses of Congress from the other party
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How Active is American Government?
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Compare US Government to other governments
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$2.4 trillion / year spent
Employs 2 million
Owns 1/3 land of US
Owns and operates over 400,000 vehicles (nonmilitary)
Size (330 million people in US – 1.34 Billion in China – 34 million in Canada)
Size of economy (Us largest GDP)
Services provided (national healthcare, housing)
International commitments (military overseas)
“American Individualism”
▪ People can and should be able to get ahead if THEY try, without interference from
government
▪ “Frontier Mentality”
▪ Strong preference for “Free Market” Economy & Limited Government