AP U.S. Government

1. AP U.S. Government Gardner 2013

2. Exam Topics • Constitutional Underpinnings • Historical development and adoption of the Constitution • Separation of Powers • Checks and Balances • Federalism • Theories of Modern Government • Political Beliefs and Behaviors • Theories of government – elite, pluralist, hyperpluralist • Views that people have about government and elected officials • Characteristics and impact of public opinion • Voting patterns of citizens • Characteristics of political beliefs and the differences between liberals and conservatives • Political Parties, Interest Groups and Mass Media • Characteristics, organization, and history of political parties • Impact of key elections • Voting patterns • Laws that affect elections • Interest groups and political action committees • Legislation affecting the political process • The mass media and its effect on politics

3. Exam Topics Continued • Institutions of National Government • Characteristics and power of each branch • Relationships among each institution • Linkage between these institutions and the political process, political parties, interest groups, the media, and public opinion • How public policy is formulated and implemented • Public Policy • The nature of public policy • The creation of public policy • The impact of the three branches of government on public policy • The relationship between public policy and linkage institutions • Civil Rights and Civil Liberties • The Bill of Rights and how it evolved • The incorporation of the Fourteenth Amendment • Judicial Review and key Supreme Court cases • The fight for minority rights

4. Democracy • The United States is a representative democracy – we elect representatives to make political decisions for us • 5 Characteristics of Democracy • Equal right to vote • Opportunities for effective political participation • Enlightened understanding – the public should be informed and make informed decisions • Citizen control of the political agenda • Social inclusion • Majority rule – decisions are made by a vote of the majority to reflect the will of the largest percentage of citizens • Pluralist Theory – the political system is composed of groups representing competing interests • Power is decentralized so that no one body or group has too much influence over policymaking • Elite and Class Theory – government favors only a narrow percentage of the public, primarily the wealthy. Wealth is the main cause of political influence • Hyperpluralism – The proliferation of political groups has weakened the government; policies are often made by “sub-governments” of “iron triangles”, composed of interest groups, the bureaucracies that regulate these groups, and the Congressional committees that oversee these bureaucracies

5. Challenges to Democracy • Increased technical expertise • An increase in the knowledge base makes it difficult for average citizens to make informed decisions • Limited participation in government • Citizens do not take full advantage of participation opportunities, as demonstrated by poor voter turnout • Escalating campaign costs • An increase in the costs of running for office makes candidates increasingly dependent on PACs and are further removed from democratic theory • Diverse political interests • Diversity of population can lead to weak coalitions, which may result in policy gridlock

6. The Constitution • Declaration of Independence • Lists grievances against the king of England, justifies revolution, and mentions the idea of natural rights • John Locke • Rights are derived from people’s basic moral sense • Consent of the governed – a government is legitimate only if the people approve of it (Social Contract) • Limited government – because natural rights are superior to a government, governments should have limited power • Government should protect people’s property • Articles of Confederation • Established first government for the US in 1781 • Unicameral national legislature • No executive or judicial institutions • Most power rests with the States • No power to tax • No regulation of foreign or interstate trade • No national currency • No national defense • Shays’ Rebellion – could not be easily quelled because the government had no power to raise a militia • The Philadelphia Convention • Factions should not be allowed to create political conflict • Government should protect the people

7. Constitutional Convention • Equal Representation • Virginia Plan – proposed that representation in the national Congress should be determined by the population of each State • New Jersey Plan – each State should be allowed the same number of representatives in the national Congress • The Connecticut Compromise/The Great Compromise – • Senate would include two representatives from each State • House of Representatives would be based on the population of each State • Three-Fifths Compromise – only three-fifths of slaves would be counted in determining a State’s population (later repealed by the Fourteenth Amendment) • Madisonian Model • James Madison warned that both the majority and the minority factions could pose a threat to the stability of a government • The president would be chosen by the Electoral College • Three branches: executive, legislative and judicial • System of checks and balances • Establishing a federal system of government, where power is shared between the national and State levels of government

8. Anti-Federalists and Federalists • Anti-Federalists • Feared that the Constitution favored an elite minority • Believed that the Constitution failed to protect too many individual freedoms • Believed that a strong central government would limit the power of the States • Published scathing articles and political cartoons denouncing the Constitution • Federalists • Published a series of articles called the Federalist Papers to defend the Constitution • Asserted that the Constitution would benefit the growing middle class of tradesmen as well at the wealthy plantation owners • Promised to ad a bill of rights to guarantee individual liberties • The Constitution was ratified in 1878, largely because the authors promised to add a bill of rights • The Constitution established the United States as a federal republic in which power would be divided among levels of government • The Constitution is considered a “living document” because it can be amended as the United States grows and changes

9. Amending the Constitution • Formal Amendment Process • Proposal: • by Congress with a 2/3 vote in each House, or by National Convention called by 2/3 of States • Ratification: • By ¾ of State legislatures or by Conventions in ¾ of the States • Informal Amendment Process • Judicial interpretation – established in Marbury v. Madison • Changing political practice, technology, and increased demands on policymakers

10. Federalism • Federalism – government is divided between the national and State/local levels • Federal Government – government is divided into more than one level (U.S., Germany, Canada and India have federal governments) • Unitary Government – Only one central government has authority over a nation (Japan, France, and Great Britain all operate under unitary governments) • Confederation – An association of states with some authority delegated to a national government (rare today, but some of the former Soviet republics have stayed in union with Russia) • Decentralized Government – A federal system of government decentralized power • Opportunities for political participation at all levels • Public involvement – citizens elect officials at many levels • Access – a greater number of interests can be represented across levels • Decisions can be made at lower levels, allowing the federal government to concentrate more fully on fewer issues • Parties function at different levels • Intergovernmental relations become especially important in a federal system because of the elaborate communication necessary to share power

11. Powers of Government

12. Constitutional Basis of Federalism • Supremacy Clause – asserts the authority of the national government over the States. Federal laws will supersede State laws • Enumerated Powers – Powers granted to the national government, listed in the Constitution • Tenth Amendment – located in the Bill of Rights, grants all powers not specifically reserved for the national government to the States • Implied Powers – Established in McCulloch v. Maryland; Gives Congress the authority to pass any laws necessary to carry out its duties as enumerated in the Constitution = Elastic Clause, or Necessary and Proper Clause • Full Faith and Credit Clause – Requires each State to formally recognize the documents and judgments handed down by courts in other States • Extradition – Requires the return of fugitive criminals arrested in one State to the State in which the crime was committed for prosecution • Privileges and Immunities Clause – Helps unify the states by assuring that all citizens are treated equally when they travel from state to state

13. Types of Federalism • Dual Federalism (layer cake) – each level of government has distinct responsibilities that do not overlap • Cooperative Federalism (marble cake) – levels of government share responsibilities • Fiscal Federalism – The system of distributing federal money to State governments in the form of categorical or block grants • Mandates – Congress creates financial obligations for the States, and sometimes, Congress does not provide funding (unfunded mandate)

14. Civil Liberties and Public Policy • Fourteenth Amendment – Bill of Rights now applies to State governments, not just the federal government • Incorporation Doctrine – started with Gitlow v. New York • Freedom of Religion: • Establishment Clause – Prohibits Congress from making laws establishing any religion • Lemon v. Kurtzman– The Supreme Court allowed federal funding of parochial (religious) schools provided that the money neither advances nor inhibits religious teaching, but instead is used for administrative purposes. In Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, the Court permitted State vouchers to be used for parochial schools • Engel v. Vitale – forbade the practice of prayer in school • Free Exercise Clause – guarantees the freedom to practice or not practice any religion • Freedom of Expression – libel, slander and obscene speech are not permitted • Prior restraint – forbidden – government censorship of the press BEFORE something is published, unless national security might be compromised • Schenck v. United States – freedom of speech may be curtailed when it threatens public order • Texas v. Johnson – symbolic speech, like flag burning, is protected • Freedom of Assembly – includes the right to protest, picket, or hold a demonstration

15. Defendants’ Rights • Fourth Amendment – no unreasonable searches or seizures • Police investigators cannot search private property without a search warrant • Probable Cause – the police cannot arrest someone unless there is probable cause to believe that he or she is guilty • Exclusionary Rule – prevents prosecutors from using evidence acquired through unreasonable search and seizure Mapp v. Ohio • Fifth Amendment – protects people from being forced to supply evidence against themselves • Miranda v. Arizona – Established that suspects must be informed of their Constitutional rights before they are questioned by police • Sixth Amendment – guarantees that all accused persons tried in a federal court have the right to be represented by an attorney; Gideon v. Wainwrightextends this privilege to cases tried in State courts as well • Eighth Amendment – cruel and unusual punishment is prohibited; Gregg v. Georgia – the Supreme Court confirmed that the death penalty does not violate the Bill or Rights, and it is not cruel or unusual

16. Civil Rights and Public Policy • Dred Scott v. Sanford – the Court upheld the constitutionality of slavery and forbade Congress from banning it in new States • Thirteenth Amendment – outlawed slavery • Fifteenth Amendment – allowed African Americans to vote • Hindered by poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clause, and white primaries • Plessy v. Ferguson – The Supreme Court officially recognized a policy of separate but equal, allowing segregation • Brown v. Board of Education – Court overturned Plessy decision, ruling that segregation is unconstitutional • Twenty-Fourth Amendment – outlawed poll taxes • Nineteenth Amendment – allowed women to vote • Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 – protects disabled Americans against job discrimination and requires employers to provide “reasonable accommodations” • Affirmative Action – a policy that attempted to go beyond preventing discrimination and provide members of groups who have suffered discrimination some compensatory treatment

17. Public Opinion and Political Action • Census – taken every ten years, and afterwards, seats in the House of Represented are reapportioned • Political Socialization – how people learn about politics • Family • Mass media • School • Religious groups • Polls – the most common means of assessing public opinion • Random sample – group that statistically represents the whole population of the United States • Random digit dialing – used to draw telephone samples • Sampling error - confidence in poll results • Exit polls- are conducted by media as voters leave the voting booth; used to predict the outcomes of elections • Ideologies • Conservatism favors limited government and freedom of the private sector; more likely to support military spending, free markets, reduced taxes, opposes abortion and government spending on social issues • Liberalism – favors an active central government with social and economic responsibilities, more equal distribution of wealth, more government regulation of big business, more government spending on social programs, supports a woman’s right to choose, opposes defense spending and tax breaks for the wealthy

18. Participating in Politics • Gender Gap – women tend to vote for a Democratic candidate • Socioeconomic Status – traditionally, people of higher socioeconomic classes tend to be conservative, however, this trend seems to be declining • Voter turnout – has been declining over the last few decades, though it is still the most common way people participate in politics • Campaign Contributions – people donate money to candidates • Protest and Civil Disobedience – other forms of participation • Education and Socioeconomic Levels – people with higher levels of education and in a higher socioeconomic class are much more likely to participate in politics

19. Mass Media and Political Agenda • Mass Media has a profound impact on politics. Politicians are highly visible to the public, and this has both negative and positive consequences for policymakers, campaigns, and the public’s trust in government. • Press conferences – a common means by which presidents convey their goals and opinions to the public • Investigative journalism – trying to uncover political or personal scandals • Narrowcasting – cable television encourages narrowcasting, which allows viewers to select what information they do and do not want to see • Federal Communications Commission (FCC) – regulatory agency that monitors the use of the air waves • Internet – The Internet has made political information easily accessible, however, few Americans are taking advantage of the technology to be better-informed citizens • Beats – Journalists usually have regular beats, such as the White House, Senate, Pentagon, etc. • Trial balloons – information deliberately leaked in order to see how the public feels about an issue • Sound bites – information is reported in sound bites, which gloss over the complexity of issues and focus the public’s attention on politicians rather than on their policies • Bias – a factor in determining what news is reported and what is not • Public Agenda – the mass media has enormous influence over this. They select what issues to focus on, and in doing so, news organizations define which are the most pressing political topics

20. Political Parties • Political parties are the main vehicles for nominating candidates and running campaigns. • Linkage institutions – helps bring the concerns of the electorate to the political arena • Rational-choice theory – assumes that individuals act in their best interest and weigh the costs and benefits of possible alternatives • Party identification – many voters cast their ballots on the basis of which party they identify most closely with • Ticket splitting – voting for members of different parties for different offices in an election; Independents are the most likely to split their ticket • National Committee – writes the official party platform and holds the national convention through which a presidential and vice presidential candidate are nominated • Party realignment – when a party redefines itself and attracts a new coalition of voters • Party dealignment – means that people are gradually moving away from both parties

21. Political Party Eras • Federalist Party (1796-1824)– first American political party started by Alexander Hamilton • Democrats and Whigs (1828-1856) – Andrew Jackson appealed to the masses rather than to the elite, and formed the Democratic Party. • Two Republican Eras (1860-1928) – Republicans arose in late 1850s as the anti-slavery party, and gained popularity again in 1896 • New Deal Coalition (1932-1964) – formed when FDR brought the Democratic Party back into favor by starting scores of federal programs to combat the Great Depression • Southern Realignment (1968-present) – an era of divided government; started with Richard Nixon, and focused on States’ rights and law and order • Third Parties – occasionally, third parties arise to challenge the two major parties, but they rarely gain enough support to put a candidate in office • Winner-take-all System – an electoral system in which legislative seats are awarded to candidates who come in first place • Proportional Representation – an electoral system in which seats in the legislative branch are awarded in proportion to the percentage of votes received

22. Nominations and Campaigns • To run for office, a person much first receive a party’s official nomination • Campaign strategy – the plan of candidates to win the election • Caucus – used by a few states to choose delegates; closed meetings of party regulars who participate in party building activities and select nominees • Primaries – voters can nominate a presidential candidate directly through a primary election • Open primaries – vote on any ballot • Closed primaries – vote only on the ballot for the party with which you are registered • Iowa and New Hampshire – receive disproportionate attention from the media because of their early primary/caucus, even though their populations are not very representative of the country as a whole

23. Elections and Voting Behavior • Suffrage – the right to vote • Twenty-Sixth Amendment – set the minimum voting age at 18 • Although more people are able to vote, fewer people are exercising this right • Political efficacy – the belief that your vote will make a difference • Who votes? • People with a college education (Hispanics and Africans are less likely to vote, but those with higher levels of education vote in greater percentages than educated Caucasians) • Older people, especially senior citizens • More women than men have voted in recent elections • Union members • People who are married • How Americans Vote: • People vote according to their party identification • People vote according to the candidates’ personalities and appearance • People vote for candidates who share their policy preferences • A person may vote respectively, by choosing a candidate who vows to continue policies helpful to him or her, or by choosing the opposition candidate who promises to change the policy

24. Interest Groups • Interest groups represent bodies of people with shared interests who lobby legislators on their behalf, and they serve as linkage institutions as well – they represent the interests of the public in the policy arena • Pluralist Theory – groups are equal in power because they have different resources at their disposal • Elite Theory – the interests of only a handful of elites, usually business people, are almost always favored over other interests • Hyperpluralist Theory (interest group liberalism): Sub governments or iron triangles – there are too many groups and it adds confusion to the system • What makes a group successful? • Smaller groups – it is easier to activate all members when you have smaller groups; you won’t have the free rider problem, where individuals can benefit from the work of the group without actually joining the group • Intensity of a group – single-issue groups form around a specific policy and tend to pursue it uncompromisingly • Financial resources – politicians are most likely to serve the needs of people or groups with money

25. Interest Groups continued • How Groups Try to Shape Policy • Lobbying – professional lobbyists attempt to persuade lawmakers to act on behalf of their group • Electioneering – interest groups endorse a candidate who supports their interests and work to get the candidate elected • Litigation – interest groups use lawsuits to change policies that have already gone through the legislative process • Amicus curiae briefs– filed by interest groups to state their side in a court case • Mobilizing public opinion – interest groups try to influence the public because they know that politicians' careers depend on public opinion • Types of Interest Groups • Economic interests such as business, labor, and farmers are often against regulations and tax increases and want tax advantages (AFL-CIO, NEA) • Environmental interests are the fastest-growing type of interest group, favoring wilderness protection, pollution control, and energy alternatives (Sierra Club) • Equality interests such as civil rights, women’s rights, and social welfare groups’ concerns center on fair treatment in jobs, housing, and education (ACLU) • Consumers’ interests and public interests address issues in which the whole public benefits from certain policy actions, such as product safety (Consumer Alert)

26. Congress • 435 Representatives and 100 Senators = 535 Members • Incumbents are elected officials who already hold office and are running for reelection. Incumbents win reelection more than 90% of the time. • Advantages of Incumbency • Advertising – Name recognition is an important advantage for incumbents. The number of votes a candidate receives is fairly proportional to his or her air time on television and the frequency of his or her public appearances. Advertising requires a great deal of campaign funds, particularly for Senators, which explains in part why Congress is composed mostly of wealthy men • Credit claiming – Incumbents have the benefit of being able to present their congressional record to their constituents to demonstrate their hard work in service of the district or State. • Position taking – incumbents’ public image is strengthened because they have already taken a stand on issues relevant to their constituency • Party identification – Voters for the most part cast their ballots along party lines

27. Congressional Organization • Bicameral legislature – divided into two houses. Legislation must pass both houses of Congress to become law • House – • A state’s population determines how many representatives it has • A State is divided into Congressional districts, each with an equal population • Every ten years, district lines must be redrawn according to the population data provided by the census • Members tend to vote along party lines • Power is usually hierarchical • Special responsibilities include introducing revenue bills and articles of impeachment • Senate • Power is more evenly distributed among senators • Senators act more independently of their parties • Special responsibilities include approving presidential nominations, ratifying treaties, and the trial of impeached officials • Senators can filibuster – this power of unlimited debate means that they can talk so long that they delay or even prevent voting on a piece of legislation • Cloture – senators can stop a filibuster by voting for cloture, which halts debate. This rarely happens because it requires 60 votes, and the majority party usually holds fewer than 60 seats, making cloture nearly impossible

28. Congressional Leadership • House • Speaker of the House (John Boehner) – chosen by the majority party. The Speaker presides over each session and is largely responsible for assigning representatives to committees or party positions • House Majority Leader (Eric Cantor) – assists the Speaker in assigning majority party members to committees and scheduling legislation • House Minority Leader (Nancy Pelosi) – leads the minority party in opposing the agenda of the majority, and in choosing minority party members for committees • Whips (Kevin McCarthy, R; Steny Hoyer, D) – responsible for counting votes for proposed legislation, working with members of their party to get enough votes to pass or defeat a piece of legislation • Senate • President of the Senate (Joe Biden) – this is a more formal than active role. The President of the Senate would case a tiebreaking vote should there be a need for one. • Senate Majority Leader (Harry Reid) – usually the most active or seasoned member of the majority party. The majority leader manages the schedule of debate and rallies party votes for party legislation or against proposals of the minority party • Senate Minority Leader (Mitch McConnell) – rallies the support of the minority party around legislation and acts as its spokesperson • Whips (Richard Durbin, D; John Cornyn, R) – assist party leaders in generating support for party legislation

29. Congressional Committees • Types of Committees: • Standing - handles a specific policy area, such as agriculture or finance. Both the House and the Senate have standing committees, and each committee is often divided into subcommittees • Joint – responsible for legislation that overlaps policy areas, composed of both Representatives and Senators • Select – appointed to handle a specific issue, such as an investigation or impeachment trial • Conference – they iron out the differences between the House and Senate versions of a bill. They consist of members of both the House and the Senate • Committee Chairs – influence the agenda of the committee. The chair is always a member of the majority party, and usually is the most senior member of the majority member on the committee. • Caucus – a group of members of Congress who share a similar interest. Each party has a caucus, and there are hundreds of caucuses, some more active than others. The Congressional Black caucus and the Congressional Women’s caucus are two examples. These caucuses hold hearings and put pressure on committees to try to influence legislation.

30. Congressional Committees Continued • House Rules Committee – reviews all bills submitted by committees before they go to the House floor, assigns them a slot on the calendar, allocates time for debate, and even decides whether the bill may be amended or not. • House Ways and Means Committee – writes bills concerning tax and other public revenue, which are subject to approval of both houses • Senate Finance Committee – works in conjunction with the House Ways and Means Committee to write tax and revenue bills • Appropriations Committee in each house – decides how government money will be apportioned to federal agencies. This is the largest committee on each side, and divides into many subcommittees that attach to each of the standing committees • Members of Congress do not always vote with their party. Partisanship tends to be strongest on economic and welfare issues. On other issues, members of Congress may act more independently, especially to fulfill the needs of their constituents. On high profile issues, members of Congress tend to vote as the constituency would want them to.

31. The Presidency • 25th Amendment – Vice President becomes President in the event the President resigns or is convicted in an impeachment trial • Impeachment • The House may vote for the impeachment of the president by a simple majority • The Senate conducts the impeachment trial and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides over the trial. It takes a two-thirds vote in the Senate to remove the president from office. • Two Presidents have been impeached, although neither was removed from office. Andrew Johnson was tried but not convicted, and Bill Clinton was acquitted by the Senate • Presidential Powers • Veto proposed bills • Report to Congress in the State of the Union address • Nominate cabinet level officials, Supreme Court justices, and all other federal judges • Grand pardons for certain offenses • Act as Commander in Chief of the armed forces • Make treaties • Serve as diplomatic representative of the United States • Oversee the departments and agencies that make up the Executive Branch

32. Congress, the President and the Budget • Sixteenth Amendment – authorized Congress to collect income taxes • Progressive income tax – people with higher incomes pay a greater percentage in taxes • Proportional income tax – flat tax; everyone pays an equal rate • Regressive tax – sales taxes; poorer people pay a higher percentage of their income for goods and services • Social insurance taxes – paid by both businesses and their employees. Social services are now the biggest expenditure – programs for people of low income and senior citizens make up 1/3 of the budget • Tax loopholes – any tax break that allows a person to benefit from not paying a part of his or her taxes (deductions for specific items, and not everyone has the same access to loopholes) • Tax expenditures – the losses in federal revenue that result from tax breaks, deductions, and exemptions. The government loses money by excusing a homeowner from paying taxes on a mortgage. Middle and upper income people benefit the most because they usually have more deductions and write-offs. • Uncontrollable expenditures – a form of mandatory spending. Pensions and payments toward the national debt are fixed and thus not subject to budgetary cuts or changes. • Entitlements – benefits the government must pay to people who are eligible according to federal rules, such as veterans’ aid, Social Security and welfare • Incrementalism – the basis on which the budget is adjusted every year. A budget is calculated by assuming that the expenditures included in the budget of the previous year will rise for the next year.

33. Federal Bureaucracy • Bureaucrats are hired in one of two ways: • Civil Service System – relies on entrance exams, and civil servants are promoted by merit rather than patronage • Presidential recruitment • Department of Defense has largest number of civil employees, followed by the Postal Service • Organization • 15 Cabinet Departments oversee and administer various policy areas • Regulatory agencies oversee a particular aspect of the economy, creating regulations that protect people • Government Corporations perform services for a fee, like a private business (U.S. Postal Service is the largest; other examples include Amtrak and Tennessee Valley Authority) • Independent Executive Agencies include all other executive bodies. Most are created for specific purposes, such as NASA. • Policy implementation is not always successful for various reasons (program design is flawed, Congress may not be clear about their goals, or a department may lack resources to carry out implementation). Standard operating procedures sometimes cause agencies to fail to see what else needs to be done. • Iron triangles are made up of Congressional committees, the agencies they oversee, and affiliated interest groups

34. The Federal Courts • Criminal law is used when a person has violated a law • Civil law is used to settle disputes between private parties • Litigants are the parties involved in a case • Plaintiff brings the charges; Defendant is the party who has been charged • Interest groups become involved with court cases to influence decisions about the law • Courts of original jurisdiction are the first courts to hear a case • Courts of appellate jurisdiction hear cases that have been appealed; the court interprets the case as it relates to the law, it does not review the facts • The Supreme Court is the ultimate authority on the law • Marbury v. Madisongave the Court the power of judicial review

35. Economic Policymaking • Mixed economy – capitalism but with government regulation • Unemployment occurs when were are not enough jobs • Inflation occurs when prices rise and is measured by the Consumer Price Index • Monetary policy is monitoring and controlling the amount of money in circulation • Fiscal policy is regulating revenues and expenditures through the federal budget; determined by Congress and the President • Keynesian Economic Theory (liberal) – encourages government’s active participation in the economy; government spending stimulates the economy by creating demand • Supply-side Economics (conservative) – be decreasing government involvement in the economy, people will be forced to work harder and save more; cutting taxes increases the money supply

36. Social Welfare Policymaking • The United States has one of the largest income gaps in the world because income distribution is extremely unequal among different economic classes • Income – money coming in from a paycheck; Wealth stocks and other assets • About 1% of the total American population possess more than one-third of all wealth in the U.S. • Entitlement programs – most government funds through these programs are given to people who are not poor • Means-tested programs – eligibility for these funds depends on how narrowly poverty is defined • Feminization of poverty – African Americans, Hispanics, people living in inner cities, and unmarried women tend to be the groups most afflicted with poverty. The increase in the incidents of women and their children living in poverty is referred to as the feminization of poverty. • Earned income tax credit – this program, provides very low-income workers with a cash credit, even if they have paid no federal income tax

37. Policymaking for Health Care and the Environment • The cost of health care in the U.S. is very high, and costs are increasing due to technological advances that are extremely expensive • Americans do not have equal access to health care • Medicare – health care for senior citizens • Water Pollution Control Act of 1972, Endangered Species Act of 1973, and the EPA’s Superfund (created in 1980 to clean up toxic waste sites) are just a few of the 20+ major pieces of federal environmental legislation • Environmental and economic policy often conflict with each other – Industrial processes can harm the environment, and environmental restrictions may inhibit economic growth and expansion • “Environmental Racism” refers to placing factories and power plants in poor, minority neighborhoods, which meets with less organized opposition

38. Foreign and Defense Policymaking • International organizations are becoming more necessary in today’s global political and economic arenas (i.e., United Nations) • Regional organizations combine blocs of countries in military and economic alliances (i.e., NATO, European Union) • Multinational corporations contribute to about 1/5 of the global economy and have significant influence over taxes and trade regulations • Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as churches, labor unions, environmental groups and human rights groups unite people globally for common causes or goals • Bureaucratic arm of foreign policy is the State Department • The Central Intelligence Agency collects information in other countries to help our government make policy decisions • Economic sanctions have become a powerful tool of foreign policy. Embargoes, cutting off economic aid, and restricting imports are all forms of sanctions. • Oil and energy supplies are making economies more interdependent. The US imports most of its oil from the Middle East. The policies of OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) are therefore of real importance to the US.

39. State Governments • Initiative – allows citizens to propose a piece of legislation, petition to have it placed on a ballot, and then vote on whether to make it law. Elected politicians are bypassed in the legislative process. • Referendum – a proposal by the state legislature that is then placed on the ballot to be approved by voters rather than by the governor. This is often used to amend State constitutions. • Recall – voters can use a recall to call for a special election to remove a politician from office. This is difficult and costly, and therefore, occurs infrequently. • State and local governments are sub national governments, and are the government with which citizens most often come into contact • Political parties are declining in influence in state elections. Voters are less likely to vote by party identification, and this leads to ticket splitting and divided government