Part VI: Economic Policy, Systemic Anomalies & Required Readings

What is discretionary vs. non-discretionary spending, and what drives the federal deficit?

Discretionary Spending:

• Funding Congress explicitly authorizes annually through appropriations bills (defense, education).

Non-Discretionary (Mandatory/Entitlement) Spending:

• Automated spending guaranteed by permanent laws to individuals meeting eligibility rules.

Deficit Drivers:

• Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid drive debt growth due to an aging population and healthcare costs.

How do fiscal policy and monetary policy differ?

Fiscal Policy:

• Managed jointly by Congress and President using:

  • Tax policies.

  • National spending.

  • Budget deficit decisions.

Monetary Policy:

• Managed independently by the Federal Reserve Board.

• Controls money supply, adjusts interest rates, and targets inflation.

: What are the key points and evidence from "America is Not a Democracy" (Gilens & Page / Mounk)?

Oxford MA Story:

• Aquarion water lobbyist pulled a fire alarm to force evacuation and stop a democratic vote buying out the private water supplier.

Gilens & Page Study (1,779 Issues):

• Economic elites win ~50% of the time.

• Average citizens have a near-zero, statistically non-significant impact on policy.

Lobbying Disparity:

• Corporations outspend labor unions and public interest groups on lobbying by $34 to $1.

Fundraising Burden:

• Rep. Steve Israel spent 4 hours daily cold-calling donors.

• Conducted 1,600 fundraisers in 16 years.

• Isolating members from average citizens.

Independent Agencies:

• Agencies enact thousands of binding rules annually.

• 2,926 rules vs. 138 laws passed by Congress in 2007.

Mounk's 3 Solutions:

• Boost congressional staff funding.

• Close the revolving door between government and lobbying firms.

• Enact campaign finance reform.

What problem does Danielle Allen identify in "Our Common Purpose", and what are her key recommendations?

The Problem:

• The Permanent Apportionment Act of 1929 capped House seats at 435.

• Expanded representative ratios from 30,000 to over 750,000 citizens per member.

Recommendation 1 (Expand House):

• Nearly quadruple House seats to bring representatives closer to constituents and reduce campaign spending dominance.

Recommendation 2 (Supreme Court Term Limits):

• Institute 18-year non-renewable term limits for justices (2 appointments per presidential term).

Recommendation 3 (Open Primaries):

• Replace closed partisan primaries with open "all-comers preliminaries."

Recommendation 4 (Election Holiday):

• Move federal election day to Veterans Day.

 What are the major arguments and findings of "How American Democracy Fell So Far Behind"?

Structural Anomaly ("Vetocracy"):

• The U.S. political system is structured with:

  • Extensive checks and balances.

  • Federalism.

  • Bicameral veto points.

• Creates a "vetocracy" designed to stop government action, resulting in paralysis compared to parliamentary democracies.

Electoral Dysfunction:

• Electoral College allows candidates losing the popular vote to win the presidency (2000, 2016).

• U.S. Senate is extraordinarily unrepresentative:

  • California's 2 senators represent ~25M voters.

  • Wyoming's 2 senators represent under 500,000.

• Single-member district plurality rules and gerrymandering distort popular majorities.

Judicial Overreach & Hyper-Polarization:

• Unelected, lifetime-tenured Supreme Court justices wield massive power over public policy.

• Hyper-polarization has transformed Congress into rigid partisan factions, driving record low public trust in democracy.

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