Chapter 1: Intro to Government Flashcards
What age group is the least likely to vote?
18-25, “young people”
Why are young people less likely to vote?
They’re apathetic, less appreciative, no time, don’t care, the news is boring, social media, narrowcasting, etc…
What age group has the most single issue voters?
18-25
What four things make up the US government?
Congress, the President, the Court System, and federal agencies
What 5 things do successful governments all have in common?
- national defense: able to defend their country
- provide public services: infrastructure, schools, hospitals, etc
- provide order: public safety, laws
- socialize young into political culture: learning pledge of allegiance in school
- collect taxes
What makes up the Policy making system?
Linkage institutions
What are four linkage institutions?
- political parties
- media
- elections
- interest groups
What age group is the most politically active?
65 and older
What is Policy Agenda?
Serious issues that attract voters
What are Political Issues or “Hot Topics”?
This is when people disagree about public policy or a problem (ex. abortion, gay marriage, police brutality, immigration, etc.)
What are the three main political institutions?
Executive, Legislative, and Judicial
What can the executive branch do?
The president can make laws without the consent of congress (ex. Affordable Healthcare Act by Obama)
What can the legislative branch do?
They enact laws by Congress (ex. Civil Rights Act 1964)
What can the judicial branch do?
Enact laws or veto them by deciding if they are constitutional or not. (ex. Roe vs Wade on abortion)
What can other political institutions do?
They can influence people either way on politics. (ex. the NAACP changed things with civil rights, Brown vs Board of Education)
What is policy impact?
How the policy affects the public
Why is the US government more like a republic than a democracy?
Democracy literally means ‘government of the people’, and the constitution says that there should be an electoral college, not individual votes. We elect people to vote for us with electoral votes.
What is the traditional idea of the US Government?
- equality in voting
- effective participation
- enlightened understanding
- citizens control the agenda
- inclusion
none of these are completely true in the US government
What are the three theories of American Democracy?
- pluralism
- hyper-pluralism
- elitism
What is Pluralism?
Where there are many different groups that are easy to join, compete against each other, and there is always a winner (ex. presidential race between democrat and republican)
What is Hyper-Pluralism?
This is when there are too many influential groups that have so much competition between them that nothing ever gets done. This is called policy gridlock (ex. the house of representatives)
What is Elitism?
Wealth gives you power, and class and wealth=big business (ex. when a corporation donates money to fund a campaign. The longer one can run their campaign, the more likely they are to get elected)
What are values of the US Government?
- liberty
- opportunities because of equality
- individualism
- economy
What are some challenges to democracy?
- increased technical expertise (biased, limited news)
- limited involvement
- increasing government campaign costs
- diverse political interests
How much of the GDP is spent on government operations?
33% of the GDP
How much of the GDP is spent annually on multiple programs?
$3.7-$4 trillion
How much land of the USA does the federal government own?
One-third. 55% of that is in Alaska
How many people does the government employ?
About 18 million people
What three things does the government spend the most money on?
- Social Security
- Healthcare
- Defense
