American Government: Public Policy, Political Participation & Voting Behavior

Policy Focus & Ideological Frameworks

• Definition of public policy

  • “Whatever governments choose to do … and not do.”

  • Example of regulatory depth: ≈ 45 000 federal, state & local rules can touch a single hamburger.

• Course will ignore micro-regulations ➔ emphasis on the “big four” arenas

  • Education policy

  • Tax policy

  • Social-welfare policy (e.g.a0Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid)

  • Foreign policy

• Ideological lenses

  • Conservatives → “Government is best that governs least.”

  • Liberals → Government action can cure social ills.

  • Each topic will be examined with “What do liberals believe? What do conservatives believe?” so students can situate their own ideology.

Government Action, Inaction & Constitutional Limits

• 2009 Congress initially held a filibuster-proof Senate yet failed to legislate many priorities.

• President Obama issued executive orders to bypass inaction; several struck down later by Supreme Court as unconstitutional.

• Reminder: policy can be deliberate inaction as well as action.

The American Political Landscape

Public Knowledge & Participation Snapshot

• U.S. set a 120-year high in voter turnout in the most recent presidential election (helped by mail-in voting), yet still ranks low among industrial democracies.

• Widespread civic illiteracy & apathy identified by political scientists and illustrated in class polls.

Classroom Brainstorm – Why Don’t Americans Engage More?

1. Education system de-prioritises civics (high-stakes testing crowds out gov’t, music, PE).

2. Electoral overload & burnout

   • Federal, state, county, municipal & primary cycles create constant ballots (e.g.a0judges, even dog-catcher).

3. Fear of backlash leads some schools to avoid controversial government content.

4. Cynicism & negativity

   • “All camps are the same,” “vote doesn’t matter.”

5. Maslow’s hierarchy

   • Meeting rent, food & safety eclipses abstract politics.

6. Time poverty

   • Work, family, commute → politics ranks low on daily priority lists.

7. Comparative institutions

   • Nations such as Belgium use mandatory voting (tax incentives/penalties) ➔ turnout soars.

8. Confusion over Electoral College (e.g.a0popular-vote winner can lose presidency).

Professor’s Structured List of Explanations for Low Participation (Students Voted on Top 2)

1. Cognitive limitations ⟹ public can’t follow complex policy (e.g.a0budgets, reconciliation, Medicare).

2. Indirect satisfaction – Low engagement = tacit approval; spikes during crises (e.g.a0post-9/11).

3. Media environment

   • Partisan, “fan-base” news culture blurs reporting & commentary, fuels negativity.

   • Social-media algorithms & government pressure (COVID censorship, shadow-bans) further erode trust.

4. Cynicism – “Vote unlikely to change outcome”; lightning-strike analogy.

5. Time constraints – unpaid time off to vote; hectic schedules.

6. Artificially contrived complexity benefits Congress, lobbyists, corporations; discourages lay involvement.

7. Electoral rules

   • Winner-take-all ➔ 3rd-party votes feel wasted (Duverger’s Law).

   • Electoral College distorts national vote totals and dilutes minority-party votes in safe states.

8. Complacency of an old democracy – lack of memory of non-democratic rule.

Class poll highlight: Students ranked media bias/negativity and cynicism highest; “time” has declined as the primary excuse compared with 15 years ago.

Demographic Drivers of Political Participation

Education

• Clear positive correlation: more schooling → higher turnout at all political activities.

• Concept: political efficacy – educated citizens better connect policy to personal outcomes.

• Mid-term vs presidential years cause the up-down pattern on turnout graphs.

Age

• Older citizens vote at markedly higher rates than the young.

• Consequence: policy (e.g.a0Social Security) skews toward seniors’ interests.

Income

• Higher earners vote more; they pay more taxes and monitor how those taxes are used.

Sex / Gender

• Since mid-1980s women out-vote men.

• Gender gap: men lean Republican, women lean Democratic.

• Marriage gap inside gender gap

  • Married women slightly more Republican.

  • Single women overwhelmingly Democratic.

  • Possible reasons: income changes, life-stage priorities, conservative affinity for marriage, age confound.

Race / Ethnicity

• White & Black turnout roughly equal; 2012 saw Black turnout surpass White (Obama effect).

• Hispanic turnout lags both groups – significant for Texas politics.

Case Study: Social Security as an Age-Linked Policy

• Created 1935 (New Deal, FDR) to fight elder poverty during Great Depression.

• Intended trust-fund model replaced by pay-as-you-go reality: current workers fund current retirees.

• Largest federal expenditure ≈ 24\% of budget.

• Dependency ratio decline: 13:1 \;\text{workers:beneficiary} \;\rightarrow\; 2.5:1 \;\text{today} \rightarrow 2.2:1 \;\text{soon}

  • Causes: rising life expectancy (≈66 → 76 yrs), Baby-Boom cohort retiring, lower birth rates.

• Trustees project insolvency by 2035 without major reform.

• Political dynamics

  • “Third rail of politics”: touching SS threatens re-election.

  • AARP mobilises senior voters; runs emotive ads (“pushing grandma off a cliff”).

  • Youth apathy keeps reform off agenda despite potential loss of future benefits.

How Different Groups Tend to Vote (Exit-Poll–Based Tendencies)

(None are absolute; groups are not monolithic.)

• Men → Republican; Women → Democratic.

• Age: Older → Republican; younger → Democratic.

• Education: Post-grads trend Democratic; high-school-only trend Republican (with exceptions).

• Race

  • Black voters ≈ 90 % Democratic.

  • Hispanic & Asian voters majority Democratic but more variable/regional.

  • White voters lean Republican (especially White evangelical Protestants & rural Whites).

• Religion

  • White Evangelical → strongly Republican.

  • Jewish, Black Protestant, non-religious → strongly Democratic.

• Income

  • <$50k → Democratic lean; >$100k → Republican lean (gap narrowing in urban/suburban areas).

Electoral System Mechanics & Effects

• Winner-take-all districts + Electoral College reinforce two-party dominance (Duverger’s Law).

• Faithless electors are extremely rare (≈ 99.9\% loyalty) and have never altered a presidential outcome.

• Safe-state voters (e.g.a0Republicans in CA, Democrats in OK) feel disenfranchised, depressing turnout.

Media & Information Environment

• Partisan outlets (MSNBC/CNN vs Fox/Clay Travis) operate like team fan pages, provide supportive narratives rather than neutral news.

• Social-media negativity drives many (prof included) off platforms ➔ less engagement.

• Government–tech pressure during COVID illustrated censorship concerns (lab-leak posts, account bans, shadow-bans).

Comparative & Reform Ideas Mentioned

• Mandatory voting with fines/benefits (e.g.a0Belgium) boosts turnout.

• Automatic voter registration in some U.S. states; still patchwork.

Key Numbers, Dates & Terms

• 45\,000 regulations in a hamburger supply chain.

• Mid-term vs presidential cycle explanation for turnout waves.

• Duverger’s Law – winner-take-all ➔ two-party system.

• “Third rail” metaphor: subway’s electrified rail; touching = political death.

Practical Implications & Study Tips

• Low youth turnout = policies (tax, retirement) may favor seniors at youth expense.

• Understanding demographic trends helps forecast campaign strategies & election outcomes.

• Track media biases; seek multiple sources for balanced information.

• Grasp Electoral College logic to decode headline incongruities (popular vs electoral vote).

• Watch Social Security reform debates; outcome will shape federal budget & personal retirement planning.