PLS 101 Final

What is the fundamental debate regarding economic policy? What are the major general philosophies on this subject?
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What is the fundamental debate regarding economic policy? What are the major general philosophies on this subject?
1) whether we should use a hands off approach or if the government should interfere.
2) Laissez-fare - hands off; Socialism - government heavily involved in every aspect of economy; Social democracy - redistribute wealth but does not own everything.
What are two major types of government regulation of the economy? What did the Fair Labor Standards Act do? What is the purpose of antitrust law?
1) Competition (seeking to promote competition between business. Helps keep prices down and quality high) and Protection (of workers and environment)
2) This act regulated work hours and established minimum wage laws
3) Prohibits anti-competitive behavior (monopolies) and unfair business practices.
What is promotion and what are the major types of promotional policies?
Subsidies (money from the government to private businesses) and Trade Barriers (tariffs - tax on imported goods0
What is the basic tradeoff the US government faces in managing the economy? What are the major policy tools it can use? When the economy is in a recession, what can government do to get out of it?
1) The government wants economic growth but inflation occurs.
2) Fiscal Policy (what goes into the budget? - taxing and spending) and Monetary policy (controlling availibility of money - higher or lower interest rate)
3) During an recession government can lower the interest rate
When did the three major "waves" in economic regulation occur and what issues did each of them address?
Conservation wave (protection of wildlife and national parks) and Environmentalism wave (pollution of air, water, and groud - global warming)
How did the older wave of environmental policy differ from the newer one? How does the US compare to most other Western countries in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions?
1) The older wave was mostly focused on preserving national parks while the new wave is focused on pollution when it concerns global warming
2) The U.S. lags behind most Western countries including Germany, France, and Great Britain. It is harder for us to ratify anything with our politican system that way it's at.
What is the difference between demand-side and supply-side fiscal policy? Which political party tends to favor each type of policy?
1) Demand-side policy emphasizes that if the economy isn't doing so well, then government should spend more money and therefore give citizens more money. Supply-side policy emphasizes tax cuts so people will use that money to buy things
2) Democrats - demand side; Republican - supply side
What positions did Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke hold when the financial crisis broke out in 2008? What do "moral hazard" and "systemic risk" mean and which one was ultimately given priority by the government?
1) They didn't want to have all the banks fail so they bailed out a few of them
2) Moral Hazard - Bailing out businesses will give the empression that they don't have to change - the governemnt will help them ; Systemic Risk - Because firms are tied together, if one fails, the all do.
3) Systemic Risk was given priority
What are the two major tools the government uses to redistribute income? What is the difference between a progressive and a regressive tax?
1) Taxation and spending
2) Progressive tax - larger percentage of rich person's tax than poor. Regressive tax - poor people pay a larger percentage than rich people in tax (sales tax)
What is the difference between social insurance and public assistance? What major government programs belong to each category? What is Social Security and why is its long-term viability threatened? What is TANF and how is it different from the program that preceded it?
1) You can only get social insurance if at some level you pay into the system and then you get assistance when you become disabled or retired. Public assistance does not require you to pay into the system to recieve benefits and it's aimed at poor people.
2) Social Security and Medicare fall under the social insurance while Medicaid and TANF falls under public assistance
3) Social Security is threatened because it was first used when people didn't live very long but now people are living a lot longer and money is running out.
4)TANF (Temporary Assistance For Needy Families) is a system where needy people with children get cash deposits to help support themselves but it is only temporary which is why it is different than the older system.
How does the United States compare to other rich countries in terms of the extent of income redistribution? Why?We distribute less than other countries because we have a sense of self reliance and that government should do as little as possible.What levels of government mainly fund public education? What are school vouchers and what do proponents and opponents of vouchers argue, respectively? What does the No Child Left Behind Act do? What do its critics say about it?1) Federal Government 2) Vouchers are given to parents to send their kids to private or parochial school to cover part of the tuision. Some say that vouchers force failing public schools to improve their programs or face a permanent loss of revenue. Opponants of vouchers say that they weaken the public schools by siphoning off revenue. 3) The No Child Left Behind Act requires national testing of students and for schools that show no improvement in test scores after two years receive an increased amount of federal aid but if they don't improve afterwards, their funding is dropped. 4) Critics say that NCLB forces teachers to teach to the national tests and thereby undermines classroom learning.What did the US government do during the Cold War to promote the prosperity of the capitalist countries? Why was the IMF created? What was containment and in what two ways did the US pursue it? What was the policy of deterrence? What was the idea of the peace dividend?1) Marshall Plan - giving foreign aid to Western Europe to rebuild after WWII and Bretton Woods Institituions 2) International Monetary Fund (IMF) - to make currency more stable for trade 3) Containment (Limiting Soviet Influence) - Sending American troos to areas seen to be supporting Soviet Union or backed by Soviets (Vietnam and Korea) and giving foreign aid to allied countries to fight against the Soviet Union 4) Deterrence - Keeping the Soviets from attacking by warning them that we would retaliate and wipe out their cities too 5) Peace dividened - we could be able to rest easy and relaxWhat are the key issues in US-Chinese relations? What approach has the United States taken toward China under recent presidents? How has the US government responded to the Iranian nuclear program? What is the Arab Spring?1) US - Chinese issues: Trade, Human rights issues, Taiwan, and Military build-up 2) Approach - Help China get rich but keep critizing Communist power and not let them get latest military technology. 3) Policy response to Iranian nuclear program: Make it really difficult economically to develop nuclear weapons 4) Arab Spring - mass movements in the last year where the citizens of the socialist national revolt to get rid of dictators and develop democraciesWhat is the difference between multilateralism and unilateralism? Which term best describes the US policy under the second President Bush? What are the broad goals of the United States in the world economy? Roughly how much foreign aid does the United States give out as a percentage of gross national income (GNI)?1) Multilateralism - the idea that major nations should act together in response to problems and crises. Unilateralism - the situation in which one nation takes action against another state or states. 2) Bush took the Unilateralism approach 3) International trade and Economic globalization is both an opportunity for and a threat to U.S. economic interests. 4) The U.S. ranks highest in terms of total amount spent on foreign aid to developing countries but ranks lower in terms of GNI.Is the Missouri Constitution more or less detailed than the US Constitution? Does it have more or fewer amendments? What are the rules for amending it?1) More detailed 2) More amendments 3) State Senate or Hous comes up with a proposed amendment and if passed, then it is put on ballot for popular voteHow long are the terms of Senators and Representatives in the Missouri General Assembly? What are the term limits in the General Assembly?1) House - 2 years, Senate - 4 years 2) 8 years in 1, 16 in bothIn what sense does Missouri have a plural executive? What are the key responsibilities of each of the top executive branch officials?1) There are multiple people elected in the executive branch 2) Govenor (like President), Attorney General, State Auditor, Treasurer, etc.How does the Missouri Plan for selecting judges work? Why was it adopted?1) There is a non-partisan commision that picks 3 possible canidates, then the governor takes these 3 picks and narrows it to 1 choice. This person serves as judge for a year and then voters decide to keep them or not. 2) So progress is made, new blood in office and voters get a sayWhat are the two major types of media influence? Which is most important?1) Agenda Setting - Drives political movement as it tells us what issue to think about. Framing - the prespective you see issues in. Ex: Fox news and CNN are very different with opinions 2) Framing is more importantHow has the news media evolved over the course of US history in terms of the value it places on reporting the news as objectively as possible?The news went from being openly partisan to being very objective with no bias to being very openly partisanWhat are the key functions played by the media in the United States? How do different types of media (daily newspapers, radio talk shows, etc.) differ in terms of their partisanship or ideology?1) swaying news to a certain side of the issue or not talking about certain issues 2) Most media is liberalizedDo the US news media have a liberal bias?Yes