Chapter 1 Notes: American National Government and Representative Democracy

1.1 What Do Governments Do?

• Govern: organized group with authority to direct public affairs; private voluntary action is preferred but insufficient for larger groups.

• Major functions (Table 1.1, in rough order of consensus):

  • Establish rules and standards

  • Provide public goods

  • Alleviate market failure

  • Manage the economy

  • Provide social insurance

  • Redistribute resources

  • Discourage undesirable preferences and risks

  • Promote common values

• Note: many programs fit into multiple categories (e.g., tuition-free K-12 can be public good, redistribution, and value promotion).

• Burden of persuasion for government action often on proponents of action, except where Constitution explicitly assigns powers.

1.1.1 Establish Rules and Standards

• Need for rules to coordinate action and resolve disputes.

• Enumerated powers include Congress’s power to coin money and fix standards of weights and measures.

• System of courts helps ensure peaceful, unbiased dispute resolution.

1.1.2 Provide Public Goods

• Public goods: nonexcludable and nonrivalrous; private markets underprovide due to free-rider problems.

• Key public goods: national defense, public safety, K-12 education, roads.

• K-12 education and roads are treated as public goods in the U.S. despite not being in the Constitution.

• Public schools funded since $1965$; open access to most roads.

1.1.3 Alleviate Market Failure

• Market power: antitrust laws address price manipulation.

• Negative externalities: pollution requires government intervention (EPA).

• Information problems: regulation and oversight to inform consumers (e.g., FDA).

1.1.4 Manage the Economy

• Pre- and post‑Great Depression: limited federal involvement; later shift to active stabilization.

• Great Depression: unemployment around 18.8 ext{ extbackslash%} for much of the 1930s.

• Tools: fiscal policy (spending/taxes) and monetary policy (money supply, interest rates).

• Historical examples of outcomes: interstate highways as success; Smoot–Hawley tariff as failure.

1.1.5 Provide Social Insurance

• Social Security (Old-Age, Survivors, Disability Insurance) created in $1935$; funded by payroll taxes; accounts for ~20 ext{ extbackslash%} of federal spending.

• Disability, retirement, and disaster relief examples; debates continue about health insurance and universal coverage.

• FEMA provides disaster relief; health reform remains contested (e.g., debates surrounding Medicare/Medicaid).

• Health care policy context noted for later chapters.

1.1.6 Redistribute Resources

• Means-tested programs: Medicaid, TANF, EITC, etc.

• Rationale: ensure minimum standard of living; concerns about misuse vs. incentives.

• Tax code redistribution: charitable deductions, mortgage interest deductions; subsidies often benefit higher-income groups as well.

• Agricultural price supports persist, now benefiting larger agribusinesses too.

1.1.7 Discourage Undesirable Preferences and Risks; Promote Common Values

• Examples: helmet laws; anti‑discrimination laws; debates over language policies (English-only vs. multilingual contexts).

• Tensions between protective democracy (equality, rights) and developmental democracy (civic virtue through public action).

• Charitable deductions illustrate a common value promotion tool, subsidizing voluntary contributions while broadening tax bases.

• Controversies arise when government attempts to impose a particular vision of the public good.

1.1.8 Intermediaries

• Noted role of political parties and organized interests in organizing elections and policy influence.

• Parties recruit candidates, mobilize voters; interest groups advocate to all branches and influence rule‑making and enforcement.

• Caution: bias and unequal capacity of groups to influence policy relative to the general welfare.

1.2 Limits on What Government Can Do and How

1.2.1 Origins of Democracy

• Democracy = government by consent of the governed.

• Ancient Greek democracy different from the U.S. model (limited citizenship and direct democracy features).

• U.S. Constitution builds on the protective model (Locke, Montesquieu) and the Federalist Papers.

• Articles of Confederation were a prior, weak framework.

1.2.2 Substantive Limits to Government

• Written constitutions; need to limit government power.

• Enumerated powers: explicitly listed in Article I, §8 (e.g., Congress powers).

• Necessary and proper clause and broad judicial interpretation push limits onto government action.

• Federalism: some powers reserved to states; some to national government; some shared.

• The Bill of Rights (Amendments I–VIII; IX and X) constrain federal power and preserve rights; Amendments IX and X address rights not enumerated and state powers.

1.2.3 Procedural Limits and the Consent of the Governed

• Beyond enumerated powers, procedural rules govern selection and action.

• Elections imply consent; direct democracy exists at state/local levels, not national.

• Separation of powers and checks and balances structure adoption and implementation of laws.

• Administrative Procedure Act (1946): requires public input in rulemaking; DACA example illustrates tensions between executive action and statutory authority.

• Intermediaries (parties, interest groups) connect citizens to government but raise concerns about representation and bias.

1.3 The State of American Democracy

• Pew Research Center (2018) results show mixed views on democracy:

  • 61 ext{ extbackslash%} believe significant changes are needed to the fundamental design/structure of government.

  • 42 ext{ extbackslash%} trust the wisdom of the American people; 39 ext{ extbackslash%} think voters are knowledgeable.

  • 24 ext{ extbackslash%} have an unfavorable view of both major parties; 30 ext{ extbackslash%} view Congress favorably.

  • 58 ext{ extbackslash%} believe presidential candidates have been bad in recent elections.

  • 76 ext{ extbackslash%} believe government is run by a few big interests; only 36 ext{ extbackslash%} think policies reflect most Americans.

• Voter turnout:

  • 2018: turnout is the highest in a non-presidential election in decades (more than half of eligible voters).

  • 2020: turnout ≈ 67 ext{ extbackslash%}, highest since 1900.

• Overall state: polarization and skepticism coexist with high engagement in turnout.

1.3.1 Public Perception and Engagement (highlights)

• Public trust in institutions remains mixed; polarization affects perceptions of government legitimacy.

1.3.2 Institutional Ratings (highlights)

• The branch with persistently lower favorable ratings is the legislative branch.

1.3.3 Historical Turnout Context

• Prior to 2018, the last non-presidential election with turnout > 50 ext{ extbackslash%} was in $1914$.

1.4 Summary

• Government is a necessary and unavoidable part of life; private sector alone cannot efficiently provide many core functions.

• The U.S. Constitution emphasizes protective democracy (equality, individual rights) while allowing some space for developmental aims (common values).

• Limits to government come in two forms:

  • Substantive: federalism and the Bill of Rights.

  • Procedural: consent via elections and a system of checks and balances; direct democracy at subnational levels.

• Public opinion and turnout provide mixed signals about the state of American democracy, with high engagement despite polarization.

Glossary

• Antitrust Laws: Laws that encourage competition by limiting market power.

• Bill of Rights: Amendments I–X; protect individual rights and limit federal power.

• Enumerated powers: National government powers expressly listed in the Constitution (e.g., Article I, §8).

• Federalism: Division of power across national and subnational governments.

• The Federalist Papers: Essays advocating ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

• Great Depression: Severe economic downturn lasting mainly during the 1930s.

• Jim Crow laws: State-level discriminatory laws against Black people, historically.

• Market Power: Ability of a firm to influence prices.

• Negative externality: Harm to others not reflected in market prices.

• Public good: Nonexcludable and nonrivalrous; difficult to charge for.

• Separation of Powers: Division of government into legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

• Social Security: Social insurance program created in 1935; funded by payroll taxes.

• Voter turnout rate: Share of eligible voters who actually vote.