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Political Science 100

Political Science 100. Introduction to American Government. The Value of POSC 100 - 1. Government and Politics Impact almost Every Area of Our Lives We will examine about as important a group of questions as possible:. The Value of POSC 100 - 2. 1 – Why Have Government?

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Political Science 100

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  1. Political Science 100 Introduction to American Government

  2. The Value of POSC 100 - 1 Government and Politics Impact almost Every Area of Our Lives We will examine about as important a group of questions as possible:

  3. The Value of POSC 100 - 2 1 – Why Have Government? 2 – How Representative of the Views of Americans are Governmental Policies and Actions?

  4. The Value of POSC 100 - 3 3 – How Fair are the Policies American Governments Produce? 4 – How do Governmental Policies and Actions Affect the Degree of Freedom Americans Possess? NOTE: Goals May Clash! What’s Good for Fairness May Not Be Good for Freedom

  5. Content of POSC 100 - 1 Three Sections of the Course: 1. The Need, Purpose, Structure and Performance of Government 2. Mass Politics and Un-Elected Policymakers

  6. Content of POSC 100 - 2 3. Elected Policy-Makers and Public Policy Approach the material in each of these three sections from the standpoint of REPRESENTATION, FAIRNESS and FREEDOM

  7. CONDUCT!!! If you stay in this class you are agreeing to the following rules: (1)Come on Time - if you’re late you must sit on the end in a back row; (2)Stay the Whole Time - if you must leave early (e.g., doctor’s appointment) you need to let me know at the beginning of class; (3) No Talking Unless You are Responding to Me or Another Student’s Comments.

  8. CONDUCT!!! The previous rules are all mentioned in the syllabus. You’ll be sanctioned if you don’t follow them. Beginning with the second class meeting and omitting exam days, each student will receive 1 bonus point on their next exam for each class period I don’thave to call someone out for talking in class, leaving class early or arriving late and trying to sit in other than the last couple rows.

  9. CONDUCT!!! Either every student receives the possible bonus point for that class meeting or no student receives it. For example, Exam #1 is on the 9th class meeting. Therefore, there are a maximum of 7 bonus points each student could receive on Exam #1 (i.e., 1 point for each class meeting between meetings 2 and 8). If class is cancelled the bonus point will be awarded. There are no bonus points for the final exam or the quizzes.

  10. POSC 100 – Grading - 1 As the syllabus, which is in the coursepack [and is available at my website: www.csulb.edu/~cdennis (click on “Courses”)] discusses, your grade is based upon four equally weighted components:

  11. POSC 100 – Grading - 2 Your best two performances on Exams 1-3. Thus, you poorest performance on Exams 1-3 is dropped. Which of the following is your worst test? (your score/lowest A) 90/88 91/93 88/85

  12. POSC 100 – Grading - 3 The Final Exam counts the same as each of Exams 1-3, however, the Final Exam CANNOT be dropped. The last component of your grade is your total score on a series of UNANNOUNCED QUIZZES. Your lowest two scores are dropped.

  13. POSC 100 – Grading - 4 Missed Exams and Quizzes: If you miss one of Exams 1-3, for ANY REASON, that is AUTOMATICALLY the exam you drop. The first two missed quizzes (regardless of the reason you missed) are AUTOMATICALLY dropped.

  14. POSC 100 – Grading - 5 Thus, to qualify for a makeup exam you would have to miss two of the first three exams and have a valid excuse posted with me within one week of the second missed exam. To qualify for a makeup quiz you would have to miss three quizzes and have a valid excuse posted with me within one week of the third missed quiz.

  15. POSC 100 – Grading - 6 Grades in this section will be like the typical POSC 100 class – about 2.6 on a 4 point scale

  16. POSC 100 – Course Materials- 1 You Will Need the Following Materials from: www.csulb.edu/~cdennis (Click on “Courses”) 1. The Coursepack – Contains the Syllabus, Study Guides and Reading Material Used Later in the Course; 2. Introductory Email/Textbook Information 3. PowerPoint slides

  17. POSC 100 – Course Materials- 2 Textbooks: 1. Thomas Patterson, The American Democracy, 9th- 11th alternate edition (note it’s the “alternate” edition) 2. Lawrence L. Giventer, GoverningCalifornia, 2nd edition Both are bound together in the CSULB Bookstore. Buying earlier editions can cause you to miss exam questions.

  18. POSC 100 – Course Materials- 3 By the beginning of next week you will need to read the first of a series of weekly newspaper columns. Each column will state the days quiz questions could come from that column. No questions on the exams will be taken from the newspaper columns. All the newspaper columns are currently available at my website www.csulb.edu/~cdennis) click on “Courses” and look under POSC 100 for “Newspaper Columns.”

  19. Newspaper Columns The Newspaper Columns file is password protected. Since the password is not available in any of the material you can download you need to write it down. The password for this semester is Sparkle. The password is case-sensitive (i.e., a capital “S” in Sparkle).

  20. POSC 100 – Course Materials- 3 For each newspaper column be able to do the following: (1) summarize the column in two sentences; and (2) explain why the column was important enough that I assigned it. If you can do these two things you should be able to answer any question I’ll ask from the newspaper columns.

  21. Make Use of Me! I. Office Hours: 9:00-9:30 & 2:00-2:30 M,W in SPA-241 II. Phone: See Email I Sent Containing My Phone Number (which isn’t available in downloadable material) - call times: 2:00-3:00 & 4:00-5:00 Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday (No Messages - I Don’t Return Phone Calls) Call – Email Isn’t Good for Questions

  22. Make Use of Me! III. The Phone is a Method of Helping You Understand the Lectures. It’s NOT a Method of Avoiding Class or NOT taking Notes when You’re in Class. When You Call, I Will Typically Ask, “What Do Your Notes Say?” I’m Here to Help People Who are Making the Effort to Attend Class and Take Notes.

  23. Make Use of Me! You can download ALL of the PowerPoint slides for this course at my website (look under the appropriate course). However, knowing these slides is NOT NEARLY sufficient. The slides are outlines and DO NOT contain much of the lecture material that is on the quizzes and tests. I’m glad to help you but for that to happen you’ll need to take notes in class.

  24. Need for Government - 1 I. NEED FOR GOVERNMENT A. Free Market: voluntary exchanges between mutually consenting individuals B. THE FREE MARKET/CAPITALISM NEEDS GOVERNMENT!!!

  25. Need for Government - 2 1. Without the government DEFINING what constitutes private property (e.g., the air waves), the SCOPE of private property (e.g., the sidewalk on your property is not under your control) and PROTECTING private property rights (e.g., by the police) the free market/capitalism COULDN’T function.

  26. Need for Government - 3 2. To Provide Public Goods – Characteristics of Public Goods: a. No one is excluded

  27. Need for Government - 4 b. One person’s consumption of the good does not reduce the amount available for someone else.

  28. Need for Government - 5 1. Examples: (a) Clean Air – Why would one individual, or group, provide it if everyone else could benefit for free? (b) National Defense – Would you want private individuals to control nuclear weapons? (c) Tennessee Valley Authority (d) Some Medical Research

  29. Need for Government - 6 3. Economic Regulation a. Natural Monopolies - Government regulation to counteract price gouging by monopolies

  30. Need for Government - 7 4. Macroeconomic Management a. Countercyclical spending to offset a recession 1. Balancing the federal budget during a recession would be a disaster!

  31. Need for Government - 8 b. Employer of Last Resort 1. The goal of a business is profit NOT providing jobs. 2. Because government is NOT profit driven, it can create jobs when it is NOT economically profitable for the private sector to do so.

  32. Need for Government - 9 3. It’s well documented that persistent unemployment results in a permanent loss of output and labor productivity. 4. The U.S. had successful government employment programs during the Great Depression of the 1930s. So have many other nations.

  33. Need for Government - 10 5. Social Values a. The ingenuity of capitalism’s “creative destruction” means that business CANNOT pursue social values/goals over profitability. Thus, the very strength of capitalism is a prime reason why it can be argued that a strong social safety net is absolutely necessary. b. Example: Increasing Income Inequality

  34. Need for Government - 11 Share of Income Going to the Richest 1% of American Households: 1970 – 9.0% 1990 -14.3% 2008- 21.0% The above figures are about TWICE as high as in Europe. Should Government Reduce this Huge Increase in Inequality?

  35. Need for Government - 12 c. Effects of Globalization or Internationally Mobile Capital on the Rich and Poor 1. The internet/advanced communications permits emerging nations to rapidly import new technologies.

  36. Need for Government - 13 2.Opening nations such as China to international trade greatly increased the supply of low skill workers which reduced the income of low skill/income Americans. 3. Governments have competed for capital by lowering taxes, labor standards and government regulation of business.

  37. Need for Government - 14 4. Lowered labor costs reduce product prices which much more benefits high income Americans whose income aren’t reduced much by international competition. 5. Thus, a very good case can be made that the “winners” under this scenario should compensate the “losers.”

  38. Need for Government - 15 d. In a private market each person’s “worth” is determined by how much money they have whereas in a political market each voter has one vote. Thus, votes are distributed more equally than money.

  39. Need for Government - 16 e. Therefore, the electoral incentives of government produce a distribution of goods/services that more favors middle and low income groups than occurs in a private market. f. This is one fundamental reason why liberals like government more than conservatives.

  40. Need for Government – 17 6. Lack of Information Example: Health Care

  41. Need for Government - 18 Comparison of U.S. and Foreign Health Care Systems Per Capita WHO Spending  Ranking U.S. $5,711 37th France $3,048 1st Canada $2,998 30th U.K. $2,317 18th

  42. Need for Government - 19 What incentive do U.S. insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, and physicians have to tell you the preceding information?

  43. POSC 100 – Course Materials The Coursepack – Contains the Syllabus, Study Guides and Reading Material Used Later in the Course – is available at: www.csulb.edu/~cdennis (Click on “Courses”)

  44. Structure of Government - 1 I. Government Under the Articles of Confederation A. Unanimous Vote of the States Needed to Amend 1. Is Unanimity Necessary for Representation?

  45. Structure of Government - 2 B. National Government Couldn’t Require States to Pay Taxes 1. If some states don’t pay, is this fair? C. No President or Supreme Court

  46. Structure of Government - 3 D. Military Security Needs in the West and the Recession in the Northeast Pitted Region against Region. 1. The national government couldn’t get a unanimous vote. So these crises weren’t solved. 2. Representation? Fairness?

  47. Structure of Government - 4 II. The Constitutional Convention A. Philosophy of James Madison 1. Freedom “To” (action – e.g., speech) vs. Freedom “From” (e.g., food stamps - government protects you from starving)

  48. Structure of Government - 5 2. The Constitution is mainly concerned with protecting the “freedom to.” B. Philosophy of John Rawls 1. Equal right to the most extensive system of liberties consistent with the guarantee of the same liberties for all.

  49. Structure of Government - 6 2. Any social and economic inequalities should redound to the benefit of society’s least advantaged individuals. C. How would you compare Madison and Rawls on “fairness” and “representation”?

  50. Structure of Government - 7 D. For Madison, Government was the Major Threat to the "Freedom To“ (e.g., Congress shall make no law abridging freedom of speech) 1. Government can be an extender of the “freedom to.”

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