Mrs. Black
AP U.S. Government and Politics
Syllabus
Unit V: Public Policy
March 18th – April 7th (15 days)
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Objectives: At the end of this unit, students will understand,
1. Policy making in a federal system
2. The formation of policy agendas
3. The role of institutions in the enactment of policy
4. The role of the bureaucracy and the courts in policy implementation and interpretation
5. Linkages between policy processes and the following political institutions and federalism: political
parties, interest groups, public opinion, elections and policy networks.
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Essential Question:
1. What are the factors that impact the policy-making process in both the domestic and foreign policy
arenas?
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Chapters: 17,18,19, & 20
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Vocabulary:
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Mandatory spending (give examples)
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Labor union
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Discretionary spending (give examples)
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Collective bargaining
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Distributive policy
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Unemployment rate
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Regulatory policy
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Underemployment rate
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Redistributive policy
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Inflation
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Policy key players
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Consumer price index
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Behaviors of policy makers
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Laissez-faire
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Characteristics of policy-making process
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Monetarism

Economic policy-making
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Federal Reserve System

Fiscal policy
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Keynesian economic theory
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Monetary policy
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Supply-side economics

Foreign policy-making
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Protectionism

Social welfare policy

World Trade Organization

Capitalism

Antitrust policy
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Mixed economy
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Food and Drug Administration
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Multinational corporations
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National Labor Relations Act

Securities and exchange commission
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Entitlement programs
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Minimum wage
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Means-tested programs
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Income distribution
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Clean Air Act of 1970
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Relative deprivation
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Water Pollution Control Act of 1972
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Income
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Endangered Species Act of 1973
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Wealth
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Superfund
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Poverty line
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Global warming
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Feminization of poverty


Progressive tax

North Atlantic Treaty Organization
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Proportional tax

European Union
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Regressive tax
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Secretary of State
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Earned Income Tax Credit

Secretary of defense
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Transfer payments

Joint Chiefs of Staff

Social Security Act 1935

Central Intelligence Agency
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Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
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Isolationism
Reconciliation Act
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Containment doctrine
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Social Security Trust Fund
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Cold War

Health Maintenance organization
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Arms race
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Medicare
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Détente
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Medicaid
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Interdependency
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National Health insurance
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Tariff
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Environmental Protection Agency
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Balance of trade
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National Environmental Policy Act
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Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
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Environmental impact statements
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Day 1: 3/18: Government, politics, and the economy
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Day 2: 3/19: Policies for Controlling the Economy

United Nations
Watch Fed Clip- on website
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Day 3: 3/20: Arenas of Economic Policymaking
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Day 4: 3/21: Understanding Economic Policy making
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Reading Due: Chapter 17
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Reading Quiz
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Day 5: 3/24: Types of Social Welfare-Income, poverty, and Public Policy
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Day 6: 3/25:Helping the Poor- Welfare, Social Security
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
Reading Due: Hays, Flat Broke with Children
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Online questions
Day 7: 3/26: Social Welfare elsewhere and Understanding Social Welfare Policy
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Reading Due: Chapter 18
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Reading Quiz
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Day 8: 3/27: Health Care Policy
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
Practice test due
Day 9: 3/28: Environmental Policy
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Reading Due: Cohen, Understanding Environmental Policy
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Day 10: 3/31: Environmental Policy
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Day 11: 4/1: Energy Policy: http://www.choices.edu/resources/twtn_gulf_oil.php
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Reading Due: Chapter 19
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Reading Quiz
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Day 12: 4/2: American Foreign Policy: Instruments, Actors, and Policymakers
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Day 13: 4/3: American Foreign Policy: Cold War
o
Vocabulary Quiz (Word Bank)
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Day 14: 4/4: Multiple Choice
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Day 15: 4/7: FRQ