chap 12 & 13 vocab

right

something guaranteed, that the government cannot take away

privilege

something a person may obtain or receive, but that the government can take away

party ideology

a party’s philosophy about the proper role of government and its consistent set of position on major issues

party identification

an individual’s attachment to a political party

conservatism

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

liberalism

an ideology favoring less government control over social behavior and more regulation of business in the favor of economy

libertarianism

an ideology favoring very little government regulation and intervention beyond protecting private property and individual liberty

laissez-faire economy

economic policy in which government intrude as little as possible in the economic transactions between citizens and businesses

command-and-control economy

economic policy in which the government dictates much of a nation’s economic activity, including the amount of production and prices for goods

mixed economy

economic policy in which many economic decisions are left to individuals and businesses, with the government regulating economic activity

gross domestic product (GDP)

the total value of goods and services produced by the economy

economic recession

a period of decline in economic activity, typically defined by two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth

unemployment rate

the percentage of people actively looking for work who cannot find jobs

inflation

the rise in prices of goods and services

consumer price index (CPI)

the cost of a fixed basket of goods and services over time, used to measure the cost of living

fiscal policy

government use of taxing and spending to attempt to lower unemployment, support economic growth, and stabilize the economy

federal reserve system

board of governors, federal reserve banks, and a member banks responsible for monetary policy

monetary policy

a set of economic policy tools designed to regulate the amount of money in the economy

medicare

a federal program that provides health insurance to seniors and the disabled

medicaid

a federal program that provides health care for the poor

political participation

the different ways in which individuals take action to shape laws and policies of a government

political action committee (PAC)

an organization that raises money to elect and defeat candidates and may donate money directly to a candidate’s campaign, subject to limits

linkage institution

channels that connect individuals with government, including elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media

social movement

the joining of individuals seeking social or political change with the goal of placing issues on the policy agenda

franchise (suffrage)

the right to vote

poll tax

a payment required by a state or federal government before a citizen is allowed to vote

24th amendment

prohibits congress and the states from imposing poll taxes as a condition for voting in federal elections

26th amendment

allows those 18 years and older to vote

voter turnout

the number of eligible votes who participate in an election as a percentage of the total number of eligible votes

demographic characteristics

measurable characteristics of a population, such as economic status, education, age, race or ethnicity, and gender

socioeconomic status (SES)

a measure of an individual’s wealth, income, occupation, and educational attainment

political efficacy

a person’s belief that they can make an effective political change

political mobilization

efforts by political parties to encourage their members to vote

registration requirements

the set of rules that govern who can vote and how, when, and where they vote

absentee ballot

voting completed and submitted by a voter before the day of an election without going to the polls

rational choice voting

voting based on what a citizen believes is in their best interest

retrospective voting

voting based on an assessment of an incumbent’s past performance

perspective voting

casting a ballot for a candidate who promises to enact policies favored by the voter in the future

party-line voting

voting for candidates who belong to only one political party for all the officers on the ballot

electoral college

a constitutionally required process for selecting the president through slates of electors chosen in each state, who are pledged to vote for a nominee in the presidential election

winner-take-all system

a system of elections in which the candidate who wins the plurality of votes within a state receives all of that state’s votes in the electoral college

battleground state

a state where the polls show a close contest between the republican and democratic candidate in a presidential election

swing state

a state where levels of support for the parties are similar and elections swing back and forth between D\democrats and republicans

get out the vote (GOTV)

efforts to mobilize supporters

super PAC

an organization that may spend an unlimited amount of money on a political campaign, as long as the spending is not coordinated with the campaign

monetary theory

government should control the money supply to encourage economic growth and restrain inflation

keynesianism

the government can use monetary and fiscal policies to stabilize the economy and prevent recessions; expansion: people get too confident, make risky investment decisions, making the economic boom worse; contraction: people get too pessimistic, cut spending and investing, making the contraction worse, possibly leading to an economic depression

supply-side theory (reaganomics, trickle-down economics)

emphasizes the demand for goods and services and the role of supply in fostering economic growth; proposes lower taxes on individuals and businesses as the most effective tool to combat economic downturns