Presentation Transcript

1. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dogs The quick brown fox leaped over the lazy hounds Recognizing the lack of motivation present in the hounds, the fox pursued an escape route over their heads. paraphrasing
2. French law banning burqas. What are the pros and cons of this policy. Consider the question within the context of French culture. Unity and secularism is relatively more important to the French than religious freedom. First paper topic Dechristianisation of France following the revolution.
3. PEW Conservative think tank Director named in January, 2013 – former deputy editor of The Wall Street Journal - former employee of News Corporation and Rupert Murdoch Murdoch started in tabloid (concentrates on sensational news) journalism in Australia. June 2013 PEW produces study that states that MSNBC is only 15% factual reporting and FOX is 55% factual reporting. Dig deeper – PEW research center
4. http://www.washingtonpolicy.org/about Member of the Conservative State Policy Network Close links to the American Legislative Exchange Council a networking group for lawmakers and corporations Originally, it had some Democratic lawmakers as members, but they have dropped off as it became clear that corporations were just writing bills and passing them off to lawmakers. ALEC is responsible for a number of bills being passed by states around the country including union busting bills, voter ID laws, stand your ground laws, restrictions on abortions (20 weeks, ultrasound, and TRAP laws), minimizing environmental protections, corporate regulations, and corporate taxes, and other pro-business legislation. Dig deeper - Washington Policy Center
5. PLSC 202 - Adding context

   Introduction to course

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPHSXUS0_1c http://www.conservapedia.com/Barak_obama
6. Political Economic Historic Context Relevant The big picture
7. “The word Economy, or OEconomy, is derived from oikos, a house, and nomos, law, and meant originally only the wise and legitimate government of the house for the common good of the whole family. The meaning of the term was then extended to the government of that great family, the State. To distinguish these two senses of the word, the latter is called general or political economy, and the former domestic or particular economy.” – Jean Jacques Rousseau 1755 www.constitution.org Political economy
8. “Politics is who gets what, when, and how.” Translation: Politics determines how resources are distributed within society. This sounds economic to me. Harold Lasswell
9. “I can measure the motions of bodies, but I cannot measure human folly.” – Sir Isaac Newton as quoted in Galbraith, John K. (1993) A Short History of Financial Euphoria. Newton would lose the equivalence of over $1 million speculating in a joint-stock company in the early 17th century. - A speculative bubble. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tgo_Sy1uJ1w&feature=related Social sciences are “mushy”
10. Greed and corruption Survival and adaptation What’s it all about?
11. Social sciences are by nature mushy can’t control macro experiments Humans adapt to their situations Not all people/cultures are alike Appropriate dose of cynicism
12. Types of orientations: From Danziger Cognitive orientations – what you believe to be factual, right or wrong. Hoover raised taxes and caused the Depression Affective orientations – It is the degree to which our emotions (or emotional attachment to a doctrine) affect our decision making process. Evaluative orientation – “your synthesis of facts and feelings into a judgment about some political phenomenon.” (Danziger) You puzzle through the question of healthcare through a combination of knowledge about economics and your feelings regarding the denial of healthcare and come to a conclusion that is supported by both your knowledge and your feelings Political ideology will often mold the first two orientations, leaving the individual to believe that the ultimate evaluation is achieved through their own reasoning. Individual political beliefs
13. Social sciences can be prone to bias Not much you can do about other’s bias, but seek to control your own. Avoid labeling yourself. Correlation is not causation – fire trucks and fires New information conflicts with your worldview, evaluate which is more accurate. Cognitive dissonance Always be willing to consider that you could be wrong, but also that you could be right. Not by democratic means, popular view was previously that the Sun revolves around the Earth Garbage in – garbage out Appropriate dose of cynicism
14. Unraveling the variables, what is relevant and what is coincident. Millions of variables…which are factors in decline of educational standards? Complexities
15. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RS9h_MSs4eo Think for yourself Appropriate dose of cynicism
16. Personal thought – own thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Rational or logical reasoning Intuition or feeling Personal experience or history Limitations No way to reach consensus, we all have different experiences, different priorities, and process information differently. Most difficult to escape. Examples Pro-life vs pro-choice, anecdotal evidence, self-selection of media sources to confirm beliefs, cognitive and affective orientations that lead to evaluative orientations may have been inspired by a particular ideology. 3 sources of political knowledge Danziger
17. General or authoritative Everybody knows… Authorities in our lives: parents, teachers, clergy, talking heads Limitations Could have their own personal agenda or could simply be wrong (or crazy). Examples A university professor who receives research grants, and therefore tenure, for following a line of research agreeable to business. A newspaper or news program that tells a specific demographic what they want to hear in order to get ratings. Common myths that are perpetuated simply because nobody bothers to dispute them. 3 sources of political knowledge Danziger
18. Science Identification of regular relationships Empiricism Cumulative Testable (hypotheses can be disproven) Limitations Biases can still be present (human), subject matter can be too complex to test effectively, difficulty in addressing the big questions without utilizing the first two: IE historical institutional approach of intuitively applying accepted theories to a particular topic Examples Current debate on global warming. The big bang theory, economic debate. Unable to deal with moral normative issues. When does life begin? 3 sources of political knowledge Danziger
19. Plessy v Ferguson (1896) “separate but equal” Textbooks often declare that Brown v Board of Education (1954) overturned segregation. Read the original decision http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=347&invol=483 LBJ faces down filibuster from his own party to pass Civil Rights Act of 1964 Relevance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9LhWUsrJnM Appropriate dose of cynicism
20. Facts vs Analysis “When the Great Depression first hit, the immediate response of President Herbert Hoover’s administration was to raise taxes and try to balance the budget. Unfortunately, these actions exacerbated the problem. The nation, in no mood for half-measures, sought a new leader in Franklin D. Roosevelt, who quickly took another approach.” Cochran, Clarke, Lawrence Mayer, T. R. Carr, and N. Joseph Cayer. American Public Policy: An Introduction. 9th ed. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2009. Print. Common Myths
21. Hoover raised taxes and caused the Great Depression Look at actual timeline Laissez-faire by Sec. Treas. Andrew Mellon during 3 Republican administrations. Deregulation and tax cuts. 4 recessions during the decade. Real estate bubble. Banks closing 2.7/day 1926. Hoover enters office March 1929, Depression starts August 1929, market crashes October 1929 Common myths
22. Hoover’s first response per Mellon, do nothing, purge the rot. More banks close, runs on banks and deflation. Stimulus packages, public works, industrial loans After 3 years of Depression in June of 1932, raised taxes. http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/151.html Common myths (Cont.)
23. First uptick in economy in August of 1932 with industrial production Common myths (Cont.)
24. FDR campaigned against Hoover’s programs When inaugurated in March of 1933, recovery was already under way New Deal programs were expansions of Hoover’s programs Designed for both recovery and to make sure it doesn’t happen again Why the myth: no incentive to argue against it. Both sides throw Hoover under the bus. Common myths (Cont.)
25. The Basic argument Keynesian/Rostow 1932 - 1980 Economy is demand driven Consumers as employers Supply side theories lead to cycles of boom and bust Washington Consensus Prior to 1932 and after 1980 Believes supply creates its own demand Corporations and businesses as employers Boom and bust cycles are the result of corrupt governments
26. Growth models Keynesian period 1930-1980 WWRostow Secure energy source Appropriate system of distribution (not necessarily redistribution) Luxury taxes – Jean-Jacques Rousseau Utilitarianism – Jeremy Bentham Marginal propensities to consume and save (MPC and MPS) - Keynes Productive vs unproductive hands - Rostow Third category – destructive uses Leave traditions behind (pragmatic) Not like Weber of one religion being better than another Book ends for context
27. Using whatever works without concern for ideology. “It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, so long as it catches mice.”- Deng Xiaoping pragmatic
28. Oil embargo 1973, Iranian Revolution 1979 Decrease in production, not just higher prices Compete for energy resources; land, labor, and capital stand idle Worldwide economic crisis: Dutch disease Carter pushes for energy policy of alternative sources and conservation Crisis ended when Iran and Iraq went to war and Saudis flooded the market. Framing: Dubbing this period as either “the oil crisis” or the “failure of the New Deal” suggests both a cause of the crisis and the policies needed to remedy the situation. 1970s stagflation
29. #23 Iraq invades Iran, Saudis flood market Nominal dollars per barrel of oil
30. Based on Milton Friedman Productive vs Unproductive hands Business mobilized in 1970s Business Roundtable 1973-74– discussion of desirable policies Chamber of Commerce takes on big business members Increased corporate PACs: 1976 – 433, 1982 – 1,557, 1988 - 2000 Increased lobbying efforts: 1977 – 4000, 1991 – 14,500. Increased campaign donations: nearly doubled in real terms in 1980s “Washington Consensus” Broaden base and lower top brackets, deregulation, trade liberalization David Plotke. 1992. “The Political Mobilization of Business.” In The Politics of Interest. Mark P. Petracca (ed.). Boulder, CO: Westview Press New growth model
31. Keynesian/Rostow growth model substituted Occurs more rapidly in IMF and World Bank than in US 1981 vs late 1990s. 1981, Robert McNamara replaced by Alden Clausen, CEO of Bank of America as head of World Bank. WC policies as conditions of loans. Advocates of WC claim that failures in 3rd world countries are the result of corruption. Critics of WC claim laissez-faire leads to corruption and cycles of boom and bust. Oil crisis renamed (framed) as “failure of the New Deal”. Justifies dismantling it. Discuss this framing. Business mobilization pays off in a big way. Small government as ineffective government Declines in Dept of Labor, FTC, Pro-business Supreme Court, tax breaks for corporations, wealthy, estates, and capital gains. Reaganomics
32. Broaden the base and lower the top brackets Inflation increases taxes at bottom Tax cuts at upper end In 1936, a family of four making the equivalent of $50,000 today would not exceed their standard deduction and would pay nothing in taxes. In 2009, they would pay $4,670 in income taxes, as well as, more in payroll, state, and local taxes, as well as, user fees. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o5NxNnaxN8&feature=related Interest on debt $400 billion per year $1,300 a year each to pay the interest $14 trillion debt $47,000 per person in debt Taxation comparison 1936 to 2009