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POLS 1101 Bankert Final Exam

Terms in this set (107)

What effects voter turnout?
Socioeconomic Status, Political Environment, and State Electoral Laws
What is Socioeconomic Status?
The social standing or class of an individual or group. It is often measured as a combination of education, income and occupation. Examinations of socioeconomic status often reveal inequities in access to resources, plus issues related to privilege, power and control.
- Education, income, and age
- More highly educated people are more likely to vote, wealthier people tend to vote because those who struggle financially often cannot get out of work to vote, older individuals also tend to vote more because they have more time and are financially more secure.
What is Political Environment?
the state, government and its institutions and legislations and the public and private stakeholders who operate and interact with or influence the system. The political atmosphere should be good and very stable for a firm to operate successfully. Political Environment forms the basis of the business environment in a country.
- Mobilization and electoral competition
- A battleground state is a state that could go either way in a political election (Swing State)
- It seems like the fierce competition in these states motivates people to go out and vote, mobilization efforts are stronger as they need to maximize the number of people who vote for them.
What are State Electoral Laws?
Electoral law is the legal instrument used to develop the majority of electoral topics that are relevant for a nation. Electoral laws are enacted by ordinary legislators in order to develop the general principles established by the Constitution.
- Registration requirements and voter ID laws
- Our state gets to decide how we vote. Requirements to register differ from state to state and young people are dismayed by these processes because they are moving from state to state in which they have to learn the requirements of those states.
What is a Primary Election?
An election that political parties hold to determine their candidate
- Closed Primary: Only party members can vote
- Open Primary: All voters are able to vote, including the independents
Why is Voting important?
It is the most common form of political engagement among Americans
What are the rare forms of political engagement?
Protest and Donations
What is a Midterm Election?
Elections that are held near the midpoint of a president's four year term of office
What is Ballot Initiative?
Proposed laws that are put on the ballot for voter consideration through people collecting signatures.
Differs from referendum.
What is a Referendum?
A referendum is a process for constitutional change in which a proposal is voted on by the public. A Bill must be passed by both houses of Parliament for a Referendum to be put to the people.
What is Recall?
Allows voters in a state to remove an elected official from office before their term has expired.
What is the Incumbency Advantage?
Chances of reelection are much higher among current office holders
What is Redistricting?
A process of redrawing election districts to reflect shifts in population
What is Gerrymandering?
Manipulate the boundaries of (an electoral constituency) so as to favor one party or class.
What is a Filibuster?
A political procedure where one or more members of congress or Parliament debate over a proposed piece of legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent a decision being made on the proposal
What is Cloture?
A senate procedure that limits further consideration of a pending proposal to thirty hours in order to end a filibuster
- Needs a two third majority
What is the Veto Process?
When Congress does pass bills, the president reviews each bill and decides whether to sign it into law or veto it. A veto is the president's constitutional power to reject a bill passed by Congress that he does not agree with. This veto can be overridden only by a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and the House.
What is a pocket veto?
the president fails to sign a bill after congress has adjourned and is unable to override the veto
- Oppose the bill without directly opposing
What is the main difference between the House and the Senate?
The constituency of a senator is more diverse because they represent a large part of the state, whereas a member of the house has a more specific/local constituency since they represent a small part of the state.
- The fact that their job is hard, is what they have in common
What is the structure of a Presidential System?
Examples: United States, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Ghana, South Korea
Executive Title: President
Is the Executive the: Head of State? Yes & Head of Government? Yes
Executive elected by: Voters/Electoral College
Term in office: Fixed by law
Separation of powers: yes
Executive role in legislating: Veto Power
What can be seen in a Presidential System?
The head of state and the head of government are the same person in this system
What is the structure of a Parliamentary?
Examples: United Kingdom, India, Germany, Japan, Canada, Austria, Norway
Executive Title: Prime Minister, Chancellor, etc
Is the Executive the: Head of State? No & Head of Government? Yes
Executive elected by: Parliament
Term in office: Subject to support of the Parliament
Separation of powers: No; the Prime minister is a member of the parliament
Executive role in legislating: Initiates most bills
Why is Article II of the constitution important?
It established the powers of the presidency
What can be seen in a Parliamentary System?
The head of the executive initiates most bills in this system
What is Executive Power?
the president must see that all laws are faithfully executed
Appoints and supervises all executive officers
- Appointments for ambassadors, ministers, and federal judges require Senate approval.
- Can claim executive privilege (within limits)
What is Executive Privilege?
An implied presidential power that allows the president to refuse to disclose information regarding confidential conversations or national security to Congress or the judiciary
What is a limitation to Executive Privilege?
US vs Nixon
What is Legislative Power?
Addresses Congress on the state of the union, broadly sets the country's public policy agenda, can veto bills, and has the power to issue executive orders
What is an Executive Order?
is a declaration by the president or a governor which has the force of law, usually based on existing statutory powers. They do not require any action by the Congress or state legislature to take effect, and the legislature cannot overturn them.
- Has the power to issue executive orders
- Congress has to agree on a new piece of legislation to counteract an executive order unless it is declared unconstitutional
What are the Limitations on Executive Orders?
- The Judiciary
- The Congress and the Public: If it is unfavorable, the congress can choose to not fund it.
- The Office of Legal Counsel
- Just because there is an executive order, doesn't mean that it is going to go through
What is Judicial Power?
- involves life and death over all individuals
- The president can grant pardons, reprieves, and amnesty
What is the Purpose of the Power to Pardon?
Use them after a team of severe disagreement to give us the power to move on so we have closure as a nation.
What are the Limits to Presidential Power?
- Four-year term limit
- Congress can:
- Impeach and remove the president from office But: Polarization
- Reject presidential appointments But: Recess Appointments
- Deny funding to presidential programs
- Override presidential vetoes
Why is Going Public Important?
It is a way for the President to appeal directly to voters as an attempt to circumvent Members of Congress.
What is the downside of Public Opinion?
Because it is so fickle, presidents cannot rely on it for too long
What is Regulatory Review?
This allows the executive branch of the United States federal government to ensure that the regulations drafted by different agencies contribute to the current administration's overall goals.
What do Bureaucrats do?
Implement laws, make rules, and enforce laws
What is the Iron Triangle?
A mutually beneficial relationship between members of Congress, interest groups, and bureaucratic agencies
What is Termination?
Reducing the size of the bureaucracy by eliminating programs
- Very unpopular regardless of being an easy procedure
What is Privatization?
A formerly public service that is now provided by a private company
- It is still paid by the government
What is Devolution?
Delegating programs from federal bureaucracy to state and local governments
What is "Police Patrol" oversight?
Centralized, activated, and direct. Done through surveillance of documents, creation of scientific studies, and holding hearings with affected people or citizens
What is "Fire Alarm" oversight?
less centralized and direct. Designed for citizens to be able to report issues in a system by establishing reporting agencies and allowing special interest groups to report with increased visibility investigation
What is Judicial Oversight?
Federal courts have the authority to
Judge the constitutionality of bureaucratic actions, Settle the disputes between Congress and executive agencies, and
Monitor the implementation of laws
What is Internal Oversight?
Whistleblowers
What is Citizen Oversight?
Ordinary citizens and journalists can file Freedom of information Act (FOIA) requests
What is Civil Law?
The branch of law that deals with disputes that do not involve criminal penalties
What is Criminal Law?
a system of law concerned with the punishment of those who commit crimes.
What is Precedent?
A prior case whose principles are used by judges as the basis for their decision to a present case
What is Senatorial Courtesy?
A custom whereby presidential appointments are confirmed only if there is no objection to them by the senators from the appointees state
What is Judicial Restraint?
A judicial philosophy where adherents refuse to go beyond the explicit words of the constitution to review and, if necessary, declare laws or executive actions invalid or unconstitutional
Sometimes called originalism
What is Judicial Activism?
Judges should decide cases based on the on-going changes in society.
What is Judicial Review?
This is the power of the courts to review and, if necessary, declare laws or executive actions invalid or unconstitutional
What is a Trial Court?
A court of original jurisdiction where evidence and testimony are first introduced, received, and considered. Findings of fact and law are made in the trial court, and the findings of law may be appealed to a higher court that has the power of review.
- The first court to hear a case
- If you are not guilty in a trial court, the government cannot appeal this verdict and you are free
What is an Appellate Court?
A higher court that reviews the decision of a lower court when a losing party files an appeal.
- Courts of appeals
- Does not hear witnesses and it does not allow you to present any new information for your case
- If you have new information, it goes back to the trial court. It is a review that provides some formality
What are Federal Courts?
have jurisdiction over cases involving federal law, bankruptcy, and maritime law. concurrent jurisdiction. The situation when federal and state courts both have jurisdiction.
What are State Courts?
where most of the cases are heard. A court in the state judicial system, rather than the federal judicial system, decides cases involving state law or the state constitution.
Why is the Great Depression Important?
This event proposed the development of the modern welfare state
What was the main source of help for the poor before the development of the modern welfare state?
Local governments and private charities handled the care of the poor for much of the American History
What are Contributory Programs?
social programs financed in whole or in part by taxation or other mandatory contributions by their present or future recipients.
What are Non-Contributory Programs?
social programs that assist people based on demonstrated need rather than any contribution they have made. Such programs include TANF (temporary assistance to needy families), medicare, Medicaid, WIC, food stamps, public housing.
What are some examples of Contributory Programs?
Social security and unemployment benefits are an example of this type of assistance
What is Social Security?
Contributory program into which workers contribute a portion of their wages for benefits after retirement
What is Medicare?
a form of national health insurance for the elderly and disabled
What is Unemployment Insurance?
funded by a combination of federal and state taxes
Who gets What From Social Policy?
- The Elderly: Social Security and Medicare
- The Middle and Upper Class: Social Security, "Shadow welfare state", and Mortgage tax exemption
- The Working Poor: Affordable Care Act, Earned Income Tax Credit, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
- The Nonworking Poor: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and Medicaid
- Minorities, Women, and Children: Minorities and disproportionately poor expenses for services like child care are more likely to affect women, and the rate of child poverty has increased in recent years.
What is Keynesian Economics?
This economic theory advocates for increased government expenditures and lower taxes to stimulate demand and pull the global economy out of the depression
What is Supply Side Economics?
This economic theory postulates that economic growth can be most effectively fostered by lowering taxes, decreasing regulation, and allowing free trade
What is the distinction between Keynesian and Supply-Side Economics?
a pure Keynesian believes that consumers and their demand for goods and services are key economic drivers, while a supply-sider believes that producers and their willingness to create goods and services set the pace of economic growth.
What is the TANF?
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, This welfare program has a maximum benefit of two consecutive years and five year term limit
What is Foreign Policy?
includes the programs and policies that determine America's relations with other nations and foreign entities
- Three Main Goals of US Foreign Policy are:
- Security
- Economic Prosperity
- Human Rights
What is Isolationism?
Avoidance of involvement in the affairs of other nations
What is Containment?
This foreign policy principle was designed to check the growing power of the soviet union
What is Deterrence?
An effort to prevent hostile action by promising to retaliate forcefully against an attacker
What is Appeasement?
An effort to forestall war by giving into demands of a hostile power
What groups changed the Applicability of Deterrence?
Terrorists or Non State Actors
What is Diplomacy?
The representation of a government to other governments
What is the United Nations?
The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945 after the Second World War by 51 countries committed to maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations, and promoting social progress, better living standards, and human rights.
What is NATO?
North Atlantic Treaty Organization, An intergovernmental military alliance that aims to coordinate and provide collective security
What are the benefits of NATO membership?
- NATO promotes peace within Europe and deters major US adversaries from launching large scale conventional wars
- NATO is a force multiplier that gives the United States access to military tools in greater numbers than it can achieve by itself
- NATO supports and protects the economies of Europe, which are critical to the health of the US economy
What is Economic Aid?
can be defined as the unilateral transfer of resources from. one economic entity (the donor) to another (the recipient).
What are Economic Sanctions?
are commercial and financial penalties applied by one or more countries against a targeted self-governing state, group, or individual.
- Ex. Trade Embargo, Tariff
What if we left the WTO?
We would lose influence because other countries would be able to discriminate on US Goods, place high tariffs on US goods, etc
A U.S. senator has a ________-year term.
Six
A senator or representative running for re-election is called the ________.
Incumbent
In recent years, about ________ percent of U.S. House incumbents win re-election.
95 %
The process of allocating congressional seats among the 50 states is called?
Apportionment
What is required for Congress to override a presidential veto?
Two-Thirds of both House of Congress
A Pocket Veto is a
a presidential veto that is automatically triggered if the president does not act on a given piece of legislation passed during the final 10 days of a legislative session
An informal group of advisers to the president is often called the
Kitchen Cabinet
The main political value of the vice president is to
Bring the president votes in the election from a group or region that would not otherwise be a likely source of support
Since the 1950s, compared with the entire workforce, the number of federal employees has
gradually declined
Before the Civil Service Act of 1883, how were government appointments handled?
Appointments were made to political supporters as part of a spoils system
The Freedom of Information Act is designed to
make more national security documents available to the public.
Which of the following is the best description of an iron triangle?
the stable relationship between a bureaucratic agency, a clientele group, and a legislative
Prior cases whose principles are used by Judges to decide current cases are called?
Precedents
In what type of law is the government always the plaintiff?
Criminal Law
In ________ cases, the losers cannot be fined or incarcerated by the state.
Civil Law
There are _____ circuits in the U.S. Court of Appeals
12
During the New Deal, ________ theory that a government could boost employment by stimulating demand became quite influential.
John Maynard Keynes's
The power to raise or lower the tax rate is part of
Fiscal policy
A way to reduce the disparities in wealth between the rich and poor is called (an)
Policy of Redistribution
The Federal Funds refers to the
Interest rate of loans between banks
The nineteenth-century policy of ____ was based on the geographic distance of the United States from other countries
Isolationism
The policy of striking a nation that might be contemplating hostile actions is called
Preventative War
A policy of deterrence may fail against terrorist groups because
Terrorist groups are non-state actors who may believe that their lack of a fixed geographical location prevents their targets from retaliating militarily
Which of the following goals has traditionally been of lowest priority in the U.S. Foreign Policy?
Human Rights
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