Exam 1 Flashcards
what is policy conservatism?
Policy conservatism refers to a states tendency to limit welfare benefits, deregulate business, keep taxes low, and generally place less reliance on government and more reliance on individuals and the marketplace to achieve social goals.
What is policy liberalism?
Policy liberalism refers to a states tendency to expand welfare benefits, regulate business, adopt progressive state income taxes, and generally use the resources of government to achieve social change
From where do state and local governments derive their revenue?
State and local governments derive the majority of their revenue from property taxes. Following this would be gross sales tax. After this comes individual income taxes and corporate income taxes (for states that have these, TX doesn’t). Lastly, vehicle registration fees make up a very small percent of the revenue.
federalism (government)
The federalism type of government is a system of government in which power is divided between national and sub national governments with both exercising separate and autonomous authority, both electing their own officials, and both taxing their own citizens for the provision of public services.
unitary (government)
In a unitary system, there is a constitutional arrangement whereby authority rests with the national government; subnational governments have only those powers given to them by the national government.
confederation (government)
a confederation is a constitutional arrangement whereby the national government is created by and relies on subnational governments for it’s authority.
Why are state called “laboratories of democracy?”
States are sometimes call “laboratories of democracy” because sometimes, laws will be tested on a state level prior to becoming a national law. For example, if the law that is being tested in a state and it succeeds, lawmakers can use that as evidence that they think it will work on a national scale as well.
What is nullification?
Nullification is the thought process that states can and MUST refuse to enforce unconstitutional national laws.
What are enumerated powers?
Enumerated powers or delegated powers are powers specifically mentioned in the Constitution as belonging to the national government. These powers can be found in Article I, Section 8 of the US Constitution.
- Powers include authority over matters of war and foreign affairs, the power to declare war, raise armies, equip navies, establish rules for the military, to coin money, to control the moneys value, to regulate foreign and interstate commerce, to tax, to establish its own court system, to decide cases arising under the constitution and the laws and treaties of the US and cases involving certain parties, to grant copyrights and patents, establish post offices, enact bankruptcy laws, punish counterfeiters, punish crimes committed at sea, and govern the Washington DC area. Lastly, Article I Section 8 of the constitution provides the power to “make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this constitution in the government of the US or in any dept. or officer thereof.
What are implied powers?
Implied powers are powers not specifically mentioned in the US Constitution as belonging to Congress, but inferred as “necessary and proper” for carrying out the enumerated powers.
Know the 10th Amendment
The 10th Amendment states that any powers not explicitly given to the national government, as long as they are not prohibited by the constitution, are given to the States/the people.
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
¥ In the case of Marbury v. Madison, for the first time the Supreme Court declared a law unconstitutional. At the very end of his term, President John Adams had made many federal appointments, including William Marbury as justice of the peace in the District of Columbia.
¥ Thomas Jefferson, the new president, refused to recognize the appointment of Marbury.
¥ The normal practice of making such appointments was to deliver a “commission,” or notice, of appointment. This was normally done by the Secretary of State. Jefferson’s Secretary of State at the time was James Madison.
¥ At the direction of Jefferson, Madison refused to deliver Marbury’s commission. Marbury sued Madison, and the Supreme Court took the case.
Chief Justice John Marshall wrote that the Judiciary Act of 1789, which spelled out the practice of delivering such commissions for judges and justices of the peace, was unconstitutional because it the gave the Supreme Court authority that was denied it by Article III of the Constitution. Thus, the Supreme Court said, the Judiciary Act of 1789 was illegal and not to be followed.
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
¥ In the case of McCulloch v. Maryland, the Supreme Court defined powers of the state over the federal government. The United States, at this time (1819) had a federal bank, the Bank of the United States.
¥ The State of Maryland voted to tax all bank business not done with state banks. This was meant to be a tax on people who lived in Maryland but who did business with banks in other states. However, the State of Maryland also sought to tax the federal bank. Andrew McCulloch, who worked in the Baltimore branch of the Bank of the United States, refused to pay the tax. The State of Maryland sued, and the Supreme Court accepted the case.
Writing for the Court, Chief Justice John Marshall wrote that the federal government did indeed have the right and power to set up a federal bank. Further, he wrote, a state did not have the power to tax the federal government. “The right to tax is the right to destroy,” he wrote, and states should not have that power over the federal government.
Why are federal grants-in-aid important?
Grants-in-aid are payments of funds from the national government to state or local governments or from a state government to local governments for specific purposes. These grants are important because they provide much needed funds to the states and local governments. These funds are not mandatory, and CAN in fact be turned down (participation is not mandatory). However, the state/local governments DO need these funds. BUT, it is thought that the states are “bribed” by the temptation of much needed federal money and “blackmailed” by the thought that other states will get the money, which was raised in part by federal taxes on the state’s own citizens. Again, if state’s feel that the stipulations put on the money are unfair, they CAN refuse the money.
What are mandates?
Mandates refer to federal-state relations. In this situation, it is saying that the federal government’s orders to state (or local) governments to provide particular services or perform specific services. This “requirement” of states to enforce the laws/provide certain services is achieved by threatening legal action or removal of funds. For example, the “No Child Left Behind” act was signed into law by President George W. Bush. States compliance was REQUIRED in this case. However, if a state chose not to comply for one reason or another, the federal government threatened to take away all or some of their federal education funding. Another example of this is making the federal drinking age 21. Congress passed a law in 1984 requiring all states to raise their legal drinking age to 21 by 1986, or else they would lose 10% of their federal highway funds.
Know which level of government is responsible for which different policies
State and local governments are responsible for policies concerning education, law enforcement, healthcare, health and welfare (biggest 2), transportation, public safety, civil rights, physical environment, and taxation.
