AP Gov. Unit 4

american core political values

individualism, equality of opportunity, the free enterprise system, rule of law, and limited government

Alexis Tocqueville

wrote about american individualism after traveling the nation in the early 1800s

-he noted that democratic equality fosters individualism

-he also warned about the perils of individualism, which could result in a tyranny of the majority, infringing on the rights of the minority

individualism

this core value was a driving force during settlement

immigrants came to America with the belief that they could create a better life for themselves

equality of opportunity

a core american value that everyone should have a chance to succeed

the US has not produced economic equality: rather, Americans value the opportunity to be rewarded for innovation, hard work, education and determination

laissez-faire or free enterprise

government plays as small a role as possible in the economic transactions among citizens and businesses

command-and-control policy

the government dictates much of the nation's economic activity: setting wages, prices and production

individualism reflected in America's views on economy

they tend to favor a free-market economy, with limited government individualism

Rule of Law

-in Fed No. 51, James Madison stated, "if me were angels, no government would be necessary"

-"in framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next lace oblige it to control itself" - this quote refers to the principle of rule of law which means: no one- including public offices- is above the law

limited government

based in part on John Locke's theory of natural rights, human beings have inherent rights that the government cannot take away

Bll of Rights

contains protections to protect citizens from government actions that infringe on civil liberties

Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996

Bill Clinton passed this

-gave states more authority over the administration

of social welfare programs.

-the law placed time limits on receipt of welfare assistance and added work requirements for beneficiaries

political socialization

refers to he experiences and factors that shape an individual's political ideology (a coherent set of beliefs about government politics)

most important contributor to political socialization

the family, especially when it comes to shaping children's views about political figures and political authority

Jews and catholics

-in the past, Roman Catholics and Jews struggled for equality and were more liberal than protestants

-today, Jews remain one of the most liberal groups in the country

-Catholics have become more conservative, mostly due to the church's opposition to abortion

life experiences

may shape opinions on both individual and national levels, especially it times of crisis

generational effect

people from the same generation have lived through the same events throughout decades

life cycle effect

views about political issues are also influenced by a person's stage in life

age and politics

young people are far less likely than older adults to vote or become involved in politics

ex. of generational effect

impact on Vietnam war and Watergate scandal on views of government. These events coincide with a sharp drop in public trust and confidence in the government. Decline from 75% in 1965 to 45% in 1976

multinational corporation (MNC)

are companies that make, transport and market goods and services in two or more countries

nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)

are independent groups outside of the government that work toward a public cause (the do-gooders)

Intergovernmental organizations (IGO's)

the greatest challenge to sovereignty, a country's ability to govern itself without interference, may come from these consisting of member states

-countries join these because they believe that the benefits of membership outweigh the loss of sovereignty over decision making

outsourcing

-biggest problem of globalization

-occurs when a company moves ts business to a place where labor costs are cheaper or production is more efficient because workers work longer hours

-this by US companies resulted in job loss for employees in several industries, but especially in information-based business, like call centers and in manufacturing

globalization

can weaken traditional cultures. Ex: fast food restaurants make it hard for local restaurants, serving traditional fare, to compete for customers

-Mass produced products are cheaper than hand-made traditional goods

fears of globalization

that it has the potential to connect people who want t incite violence and spread their message online

Ex: international terrorist groups, such as ISIS, spread their message online, searching for potential recruits in an attempt to encourage them to act on its behalf

public opinion

involves two components: an individual's own beliefs and attitudes and the blending of these individual preferences into a larger concept

Representative Democracy

cannot unction without a reliable understanding of public opinion

who knows politics?

younger people, lower-income Americans, and members of racial minorities consistently fared worse in their answers to questions about factual knowledge of politics

gut rationality

individual's experiences and interactions with government, accumulated over a lifetime, can help them make sense of an issue or problem.

-it may not help with political knowledge but it can assist people in making meaningful political choices

focus group

a small group of individuals assembled for a conversation, usually led by a moderator about specific issues

scientific pole

a representative poll of randomly selected respondents with a statistically significant sample size, using neutral language

sample

a group of individuals from a larger population used to measure public opinion

random selection

everyone who is an appropriate subject of the poll has an equal chance of being selected for the particular survey

-this s why polls with voluntary responses, such as call-in polls, are always suspect

benchmark poll

is taken at the beginning of a political campaign in order to gauge support for a candidate and determine which issues are important to voters

tracking poll

determine the level of support for a candidate or an issue over a length of a campaign

question wordng

can guide respondents to a specific answer

2016 and 2020 campaign polling

-it demonstrated the limits of polling data accurately predicting the results of an election

-Most polls in 2016 predicted that Hillary Clinton would win the elections, and they forecasted that she would prevail n states such as Wisconsin and Pennsylvania that President Trump won

-Nevertheless, the polls underestimated the support for Trump, even though more sophisticated surveying methods were used to poll voters n specific districts

gender gap

american women are more likely to vote for democrats than men

-however, a part of this difference is voter turnout. Women tend to vote more.

elected officials use polling

to figure out what the public wants. They can use polling data to shape the way they spin their policy decisions to the public

political ideology

a set of beliefs about what should happen as the result of the process of governance

health care

some people believe that it is a right, something guaranteed that the government cannot take away. Others view health care as a privilege, subject to political and market forces

party ideology

refers to a party's philosophy about the proper role of government and its set of positions on major issues

party identification

an individual's attachment to a political party

conservatism

republican party association

-an ideology favoring more control of social behavior, fewer regulations on businesses, and less government intervention in the economy

Liberalism

democratic party association

-an ideology supporting less government control over social behavior and more regulation of business

Liberatarianism

favors very little government regulations and intervention beyond protecting private property and individual liberty

Republicans favor liberty

to form a business relatively free of government regulations, this reflects a trust in the market place and mistrust in the government

Democrats favor the liberty

of sexual and marital privacy; this reflects a belief that the government should protect privacy rights

immigration

republicans seek order, wanting to preserve traditional American values, Democrats favor less strict immigration polices

fracking

democrats tend to favor banning it, despite the potential revenue from oil and natural gas. Republicans have passed laws to make sure that local towns and cities cannot outlaw the practice

Laissez-faire economics

governments intervene as little as possible in the economic transactions between citizens and business

command-and-control economics

the government dictates much of a nation's economic activity, including the amount of production and the price of goods

mixed economy

-what the US has

-many economic decisions are left to individuals and businesses, with the federal and state governments regulating economic activity

inflation

the rise of the prices of goods and services

Consumer Price Index (CPI)

key measure of inflation that measures the cost of a basket of fixed goods and services over time

keynesianism

-democrats

-one theory of business cycle comes from the work of John Maynard Keynes, whose highly inflential work, The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money, was published during the Great Depression

-the combined effect of individual decisions with regard to saving and spending drives business cycles.

-During periods of expansion, individuals become overconfident about future economic conditions and may make excessive, unwise investing decision, thus exacerbating the economic boom

-in periods of economic contraction, individuals become expressible gloomy and cut back on spending and investing, thereby exacerbating the contraction, possibly to the point of a national economic depression

-governmental economic policy should counterbalance a contraction by injecting more money into the economy

-democrats often support Keynesian policies, such as the creation of public work projects by the FDR administration as part of the New Deal in the depression

supply-side economics

-republicans

-theory emphasizes the role of supply in fostering economic growth

-often called Reaganomics

-it proposes lower taxes on individuals and businesses as the most effect took to combat economic downturns

-critics call it trickle-down economics arguing that these policies benefit the wealthy and that it is unlikely these benefits will make their way to individuals not directly impacted by lower taxes

-proponents argue that excessive taxation is a drag on the economy, hindering the growth of businesses

-Trump administration successfully enacted legislation to cut individual and business taxes to boost economic growth

Federal Reserve System

the system consists of a seven-member panel of governors, twelve regional Federal Reserve banks, and six thousand member banks

-they set monetary policy- regulating the amount of money in the economy

-the FED buys and sells Treasury Securities, buying a treasury bill is investing in the US government

Medicare

in the 1960s LBJ's Great Society program created a social insurance program, amending the Social Security Act to establish this

-provides health insurance to senior citizens (65 and older)

Collectively, Social Security and Medicare are massive programs, constituting by far the largest part of federal social welfare spending and much of the federal budget

medicaid

congress enacted this program

-covers health services for low-income Americans