Exam 1 Flashcards
What is a collective dilemma
A situation in which there is a conflict between group goals and individual goals or self interest
What are some everyday examples of collective dilemmas from the text?
Housework with roommates
- everybody in the house wants a clean kitchen, but only you clean. No way to enforce a everybody cleans rule
Traffic jams because of a road obstruction
- there would be no jam if somebody stopped to move the obstruction but it is easier and quicker for each individual to drive around the obstruction
What is a free rider problem
When people benefit from the public good while avoiding the cost of contributing to the public good.
What is a coordination problem
A situation in which two or more people are all better off if they coordinate on a common course of action but there is more than one possible course of action. Often faced because they cannot communicate or because of fundamental disagreements
Give examples of coordination problems in politics
The republican national party choosing their 2016 presidential candidate
International adoption of traffic signal colors
What is the solution to collective dilemmas
A strong external actor to enforce that everybody contributes
What is a prisoners dilemma
An interaction between two strategic actors in which neither actor has an incentive to cooperate even though each of them would be better off if the cooperated with each other
Why are prisoners dilemmas relevant to governing
Collective action problems are multi-person versions of prisoners dilemmas and the government is a series of collective action problems. The prisoners dilemma is also a generic version of situations that regularly occur in American politics
What is a principal-agent or delegation problem
In instance in which one actor (the principal) contracts another actor (the agent) to act on the principals behalf. However, they may not share the same preferences and the principal lacks the means to observe all of the agents behavior
Why are principal-agent or delegation problems relevant to governing?
The government often acts as a principal and has smaller bureaucracies act out as agents to do tasks for the government
Where are principal-agent in your life
When your car has a problem you act as a principal and trust the mechanic to ask as an agent and properly fix your car
What was the relationship between the colonists and the crown like prior to the revolution?
States had a large amount of des region in self governance but were expected to pay back large amounts of taxes back to england,
Describe the relationship between state and national identities in the founding era
State identity was much stronger than national identity
What is a collective dilemma in when designing a constitution
State governments are more interested in doing what is best for their state rather than what is best for the country
-all states benefit from a stronger national government but no individual state wants to pay the cost
What are the constitutional rules of government rooted in
High minded philosophical concepts of democracy and liberty. And the political maneuvering son 18th century politicians
How did the articles of confederation fail
National government held war debt but the individual states held purse strings
Free rider problems
Transaction cost- currency varied state to state and had different taxes
Legislative decision making- action required unanimous consent and nothing could ever get done
What events convinced most people that the articles needed to be overhauled
Shays rebellion
The articles couldn’t keep peace
Daniel shays led a rebellion to protest unfair tax policy and the practice of locking up individuals who couldn’t pay their debt
British and French threats as foreign powers
What happens after the articles of confederation are thrown out and the constitution is written
Constitution is signed by all but 3 Pennsylvania delegates.
9 state legislature must ratify
- public debate in the newspapers
Bill of rights is promised to limit the national government
Is ratified in 1788
How did the bill of rights alleviate concerns of anti-federalist
The bill of rights gaur tees individual rights and and limits the powers of the national government
How did the federalist papers alleviate concerns of anti-federalist
The papers allow both sides to be heard and allows public debate for both sides
What plan did large states want for national government
Virginia plan
2 house legislature
Upper house: nominated by state legislatures
Lower house: nominated by popular vote
Congress stronger than the single and independent executive that is appointed by legislature
Delegation size is based on population
What plan did small states want for national government
New Jersey plan
One house of congress
1 representative per state
Multi-person executive branch appointed by the legislature
How did the founders reconcile conflicts between large and small states
Connecticut compromise
2 houses
Lower house based on state population
-all spending must originate here
-southerner want slaves to be counted in representation (3/5 compromise)
Upper house- 2 members per state that are nominated by their state legislatures
(Changed by 17th amendment to popular vote)
Election of president by electoral college
What is rule of law
A system in which all people in society, including governing officials, are subject to legal codes that are applied without bias by independent courts
Give an example of an official being subject to rule of law
Ray nag in - New Orleans mayor sentenced to 10 years for fraud and bribery
What was the primary concern that made founders adopt a federal system
The states feared they could not protect themselves from foreign invasions or internal strife without a strong national government to solve collective dilemmas
Geography didn’t allow for unitary stystem
History made them fear unitary systems like the British government that they felt had too much power
Why are states sometimes call laboratories of democracy
States can test policies on smaller levels with less cost and consequence
Other governments learn from state experience
Learn from successful state policies in certain areas
National governments can take up successful policies
What advantage does a confederation system provide
States retain supreme power over events within their boarders
National government only exercises powers the state chooses to give it
National government is responsible for foreign relations
On legislative branch
How do historical events such as the new deal, the great society , and devolution trigger realignments in the relationship of the state and federal government
New deal- national government becomes the more important level of government in people’s lives over state governments + social security
Great society- national rather than state government correct various social programs to care for citizens + rise of bureaucracy
Devolution- laws return power to the states
Which amendment secures reserved powers to the state and what does it say
Tenth amendment (X)
The powers not delegated to the United States by the constitution nor prohibited by it to the states are reserved to the states respectively or to the people
Which type of grant provides the federal government the most influence
Grants in aide provide the most influence because the government can narrowly define how the grant money is spent by lower level governments
Which type of grant provides state government the most influence
Block grants because the money is given to the state to determine how the money is spent as long as it meets the general purpose of the grant
What is revenue sharing
When national and lower- level governments coorperate in funding a project
Which sections of the constitution empower the federal government
Article I section 10 - lists what state cannot do: like make treaties or coin money
article IV section 2-4 - declares national government responsibility to protect states
Article VI - supremacy clause: national law supreme over nation and mandates offals allegiance to us
What sections of the constitution are ambiguous but can be interpreted to empower the federal government
Article I section 8 clause 18
- necessary and proper clause/ elastic clause
- government can make and carry out laws as deemed necessary
Article 1 section 8 clause 2
- commerce clause
- congress has power to regulate commerce
What sections of the constitution empower state governments
Article 1 section 9- restrictions on federal government
Bill of rights- first 10 amendments
10th amendment- reserves power for the states
Name one Supreme Court case that expanded the rights of individuals and empowered the federal government
Gibbons v Ogden
- national commerce law trumps New York State laws
Brown v board of education
- separate but equal schools are unconstitutional because racial segregation is outlawed by the federal 14th amendment
What is the difference in government being restrained versus empowered to deal with discrimination
Restrained means the government cannot be involved in individual activities
- Texas cannot have anti-sodium you laws because sec is a private individual activity
Empowered means to government is obligated to step in to protect individual rights
- civil rights act of 1964 protects all voting rights
What is affirmative action
Efforts to redress previous discrimination against women and minorities through active measures to promote their employment and educational opportunities
- example is college admissions taking gender and race into account as one of several factors of admissions decisions
What is redlining
The practice of denying services ( mostly financial) based on racial or ethnic composition without regard to residents qualifications or creditworthiness
mostly used in loans and credits for housing
What are the legacies of redoing
Racial covenants and economic sorting
- people live in areas based on color because of the loans they could get
- white washed and black neighborhoods
- price of living and houses depends on the color of neighbors
What is incorporation
The process by which rights and liberties established by the bill of rights are applied to state and local governments through the 14th amendment
What is due process
The right to legal protections against arbitrary deprivation of life, liberty, or property
What is equal protection
The principle that laws passed and enforced by the states must apply fairly to all individuals
How has the 14th amendment been used to empower the federal government
Gives power to the people in courts as citizens of the United States and restricts power of the states to enforce laws that abridge privileges or immunities of US citizens or deprive and person of life liberty or the pursuit of happiness without the dues process of law and equal protection of the laws
-citizen clause, privileges or immunities clause, due process clause, equal protection clause
