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POLS207 - State and Local Government > Exam 5: Ch. 11 +12 > Flashcards

Exam 5: Ch. 11 +12 Flashcards

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1
Q

What is policy?

A

position or action that is a result of the government taking or not taking a formal position on a matter at hand

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2
Q

Characteristics of a policy?

A

broad or specific
combination of principles, promises, and action
consistent or inconsistent
serve a select few or many

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3
Q

How is silence a policy?

A

denies legitimacy to a cause and its advocates; Americans have a short attention span, so silence leads to the issue being forgotten and no change in current policy will occur

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4
Q

How is doing nothing a policy?

A

all words and no action lead to no actual change

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5
Q

What are the 2 reasons for doing nothing?

A

partisan and incidental

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6
Q

What are partisan reasons for doing nothing?

A

“tossing a bone” to those demanding action; enabling credit claiming and plausible deniability

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7
Q

What is an incidental reason for doing nothing?

A

budget shortfalls, packed schedules, too many bills

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8
Q

What is the difference between silence and doing nothing?

A

silence: nothing is said about the proposed issue
doing nothing: words are said about the issue, but there is no action taken

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9
Q

Explain the endless cycle of policy-making

A

people shape policy and policy impacts people

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10
Q

Who are the people in the policy-making lifestyle?

A

elected officials, parties, interest groups, donors, public

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11
Q

How do people shape policy?

A

legislating, lobbying, contacting, donating, vetoing, silence

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12
Q

What are some possible policy points?

A

budgets, laws, rules, court decisions, executive action, letting status quo stand

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13
Q

Who should policy matter to?

A

a lot of policy should matter to some of us, while some policy should matter to all of us

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14
Q

What are the effects of time on policy?

A

what we do not care about now can cost us in the future

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15
Q

What are the “Big 4” policy areas?

A

poverty
healthcare
education
immigration

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16
Q

Conservative

A

emphasizes an individual’s responsibility and impact on society; ex: a criminal is a character flaw, and rehabilitation cannot fix it

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17
Q

Liberal

A

emphasizes society’s responsibility and impact on an individual; ex: a criminal is a product of their environment, so rehabilitation is possible

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18
Q

What are some overlaps between conservatives and liberals?

A

conservatives sometimes acknowledge that elevating issues of rights and dignity is the responsibility of society (when a criminal has been humanized); liberal sometimes recognizes that criminals are inherently bent towards crime and elevate issues of safety (when a criminal hurts a loved one)

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19
Q

Perspective are not…

A

mutually exclusive

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20
Q

What are goals shared by all states?

A

poverty
health
education
immigration

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21
Q

What position does Texas take on the 4 goals shared by states?

A

TX is very conservative…
poverty: less assistance, focus on kids and pregnant moms
health: less coverage, focused on kids and elderly
education: less funding, focus on richer districts
immigration: enforced on individuals and local government, not on business

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22
Q

What do social rules have to about winners and non-winners?

A

winners get more, and they deserve to get more, while non-winners are not deserving

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23
Q

“Not my job” conclusion

A

assistance from the government should me minimal, and should come from civil and religious groups because non-winners are irresponsible and unworthy

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24
Q

“It could have been me” Conclusion

A

the government should offer a generous hand to non-winners because they are good people who have been oppressed

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25
Q

Poverty…

A

is a relative label meaning someone you see as living at poverty may not see their life that way; it is on the lower end of a continuous spectrum of economic class with no precise starting point; it’s more than just having little money, if affects how the people interact with society

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26
Q

Generational Poverty

A

families living in poverty for two generation or longer

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27
Q

Situational Poverty

A

circumstance-driven, lasts shorter time

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28
Q

Hidden rules concerning food

A

Poverty: quantity is important
Middle: quality is important
Wealth: presentation is important

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29
Q

Hidden rules concerning education

A

Poverty: valued and revered as abstract, but not as reality
Middle: crucial for climbing success ladder and making money
Wealth: necessary tradition for making and maintaining connections

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30
Q

How does the government measure poverty?

A

tripping the cost of buying food for a year in 1960s, then adjusted every year to account for inflation

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31
Q

Why is the current way of measuring poverty outdated?

A

back in the 1960s, the major expense was food, not the case anymore

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32
Q

What are the flaws of the current way of measuring poverty?

A

it’s outdated, underestimates the number of people experiencing poverty, it doesn’t account for the cost of living variation across the states

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33
Q

Why hasn’t the current way of calculating poverty been overthrown?

A

the correct measure of poverty is much higher than the current measure, and politicians don’t want that type of increase associated to their name

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34
Q

What do states say fixes poverty; and what do statistics have to say about that?

A

states say that jobs and education are the key to fixing poverty, but full time jobs don’t always pay well or lead to advancement opportunities and education doesn’t guarantee no poverty

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35
Q

What are the standard policy ingredients for getting rid of poverty?

A
  • states share the same 4 standard ingredients, but their approach is different
  • boost welfare programs
  • increase wages
  • increase education opportunities
  • provide basic healthcare
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36
Q

What’s the role of birthrate and family size in poverty?

A

larger families raise poverty count

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37
Q

What is the theist of medical care in the US?

A

it’s very expensive and it’s treated as a privilege instead of a right; if you have the money to pay for treatment, then you pay, but if you don’t then you hope for assistance from the gov’t, friend, or you go without treatment

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38
Q

Private Care Model

A

individuals are held personally responsible for paying the actual cost for the treatment that they receive; preferred by most Americans

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39
Q

Socialized Care Model

A

the gov’t collects taxes and provides medical care for “free”, but they get to decide what they are willing to pay for

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40
Q

Issue with private care model

A

most Americans cannot afford to pay the full cost of their healthcare, so many pay for health insurance, but insurance isn’t cheap

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41
Q

How does health insurance work?

A

insurance companies spread the risk of a catastrophic cost for their insured by making them pay regular premiums

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42
Q

What is the governing principle of private insurance?

A

their main goal is to make money for the company

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43
Q

How do insurance companies make money?

A

payouts have to be less than the premiums, and to do this, they have to balance 4 factors: how many policies are in force, how sick the people are with those policies, how much they agree to pay the medical providers under agreements made, how much they charge customers for new or renewed policies

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44
Q

Do insurance companies pay for everything?

A

no, they only pay for a portion of the medical bill, how much they pay depends on how much the insurance is; higher cost insurance means the company pays more, while lower cost insurance, the company pays less

45
Q

What costs do people with insurance have to pay?

A

premiums, deductibles, co-pays/co-insurance, all costs

46
Q

Premiums

A

cost to the plan, paid monthly, whether sick or not

47
Q

Deductibles

A

the annual amount you must pay for medical care before your plan will pay anything

48
Q

Co-pays/Co-insurance

A

how much you must pay for each instance of medical care when that care is covered by your plan and you annual deductible has been paid

49
Q

All costs

A

for services that are not covered by their policy

50
Q

Out of pocket maximum

A

stated amount out of pocket the insured can pay for medical costs in a 12 month period before copayments end

51
Q

What is the relationship between US employers and insurance?

A

they are the #1 source of healthcare benefits, but they have scaled back the number of jobs that offer medical care plan, and they have shifted the costs to their employees

52
Q

What happens when someone cannot pay for medical insurance?

A

they delay getting it, they skip getting it, leading worse to health, quality of life, and life expectancy; or they got to the emergency room and not pay for the bill, which is then left to tax payers

53
Q

What are the three types of problems that can be seen when dealing with the uninsured?

A

humanitarian
societal
economic

54
Q

Humanitarian

A

they suffer individually, sometimes greatly

55
Q

Societal

A

they poor health hurts their families and communities

56
Q

Economic

A

they are burdens on commercial productivity and drain away tax and charity dollars from other needs

57
Q

How does someone who is uninsured obtain long-term help with their medical bills?

A

Affordable Care-Act
Medicaid

58
Q

Affordable Care Act

A

people with income above 133% of the Federal Poverty Level can receive health insurance at reduced premiums; the federal gov’t heavy subsidizes to make it more affordable, and the individuals will still need to pay $1000s more; may not be accepted by doctors

59
Q

Medicaid

A

pays for all necessary medical care
- not same as Medicare (for seniors)
- joint federal-state program, but feds pay most of costs via grants
- however, the states tailor their programs to determine who is eligible and who is not – Texas has some of the tightest restrictions
- expanded in order to cover more needy individuals

60
Q

What are some reforms that came along with the Affordable Care Act?

A

minimum standards for what bills would be covered by a policy
- illegal for insurers to deny insurance coverage to anyone due to their health conditions
- adult children to remain on their parents’ policy for much longer period of time

61
Q

What happens when government set a cut off for ACA subsidies, and states refused to expand medicaid?

A

people who make more than the federal poverty line and less than the 133% are left uninsured

62
Q

What is a common measure of “excellent” public school education programs?

A

high school completion

63
Q

How do states and local governments seek to improve HS graduation rates?

A

by increasing funding

64
Q

Where does Texas stand when it comes to spending on public education?

A

Texas is ranked 46th; TX spent below the national average which created an annual difference of $59000 per classroom

65
Q

Robin Hood system

A

calls on wealthier districts to transfer some funding to the poorer; resented system that is plagued with problems, and hasn’t resolved inequalities

66
Q

Great Recession of 2008 and School Funding

A

hurt many states and almost all slashed public education spending; Texas took away $5 billion in 2011 and only restored $3 in 2013, but bc of inflation it was nowhere near enough to cover what they originally took out

67
Q

3 P’s

A

Principles
Practicalities
People

68
Q

Principles (illegal immigration)

A

rule of law: illegalities should be punished
fairness: “wait your turn”
diversity: “melting pot” is basis of US strength
security: safety of citizens is vital
status: keep things as they are
compassion: sacrificially helping others

69
Q

Practicalities (illegal immigration)

A
  • there are a lot of illegal immigrants
  • it’s very difficult to control illegal immigration
  • illegal immigrants draw from AND contribute to the economy
70
Q

People (illegal immigration)

A
  • much more diverse population than most of us realize
  • many have invested themselves in their communities
  • the consequences of deportation can be dire for them
  • Texans often know one or more illegal immigrant(s), but often may not realize
71
Q

DREAM Act

A

considered by congress, but never became a law bc Republican primary contenders labeled anyone who supported this bill as “willing to grant amnesty to law breakers!”; would have removed the threat of deportation if they were under 30, brought to the US as a minor, and have been in the US for 5 years

72
Q

DACA

A

response to the failure of DREAM Act; changed the implementation of immigration law, allowing DREAMers to enroll, and have deportation action deferred for 2 years; renewable in 2014, Obama tried to expand it in order to include more undocumented people and their parents but was blocked by federal courts because of states including Texas suing

73
Q

Prosecutorial Discretion

A

the President cannot enforce all laws with equal rigor because resources are too limited, thus the President can focus resources onto or away from certain matters

74
Q

Benefits of DACA

A
  • hidden status a fear gone
  • getting a number (license and travel)
  • sense of being an American
75
Q

Risks of DACA

A

registration requires applicants to identify their undocumented status to the gov’t, as well as provide detailed information about them and family members

76
Q

What are reasons to repeal the Texas Dream Act?

A

in state tuition prices is a magnet for the undocumented

77
Q

What are the two types of law?

A

criminal and civil

78
Q

What is an example of a criminal charge?

A

murder

79
Q

What is an example of a civil suit?

A

wrongful death

80
Q

What does criminal law deal with?

A

actions harmful to state as a whole

81
Q

Who accuses in criminal law?

A

the state is accuser and prosecutor; prosecution is multistep, very lengthy process

82
Q

What percent of criminal cases go to trial?

A

10%

83
Q

Trials are held in county courtrooms with county judges but cases are called…

A

the state of Texas v. _____

84
Q

The standard of guilt for criminal cases is…

A

beyond a reasonable doubt

85
Q

What are two levels of crimes?

A

misdemeanors and felonies

86
Q

What’s the difference between a misdemeanor and felony?

A

misdemeanor = less serious punishment, and has no grand jury; felonies = more serious punishment such as state prison, and is charged, there’s also a grand jury

87
Q

Who accuses in civil disputes?

A

disputes between individuals; plaintiff files complaint against defendant

88
Q

What the outcomes of civil suits?

A

the loser must compensate the winner in some way, such as money or an item

89
Q

What is a dual court system?

A

federal courts and state courts

90
Q

Who handles more cases?

A

state courts handle issues under state law handle 99.9% of criminal cases annually 99.8% of civil cases annually

91
Q

Why are plea bargains so popular in the justice system?

A

there is simply too much volume for courts to handle all cases equally

92
Q

What is selective incorporation?

A

mandating state laws, be consistent with US constitution

93
Q

What are the 2 types of questions trial courts deal with?

A

questions of fact - answered by juries if jury trial
questions of law - always answered by judge

94
Q

Appellate jurisdiction or courts of appeal are held for lower court decisions and can only _____

A

take issue with trial judge’s decision about questions of law

95
Q

What can a court of appeals accomplish?

A

either upholds or reveres lower court judgement; can’t set defendants free

96
Q

What do grand juries do?

A

decide whether or not to indict individual and send them to trial; review state’s evidence

97
Q

How is grand jury selected?

A

old way: pick someone
new way: random selection

98
Q

Why was the “Key man” method of picking grand juries considered biased?

A

grand jurors were selected by a jury commissioner who was appointed by the district judge, and the juries selected would rarely set the defendant free before trial/ they were accused of rubber stamping whatever the DA wanted, even if that meant the people who were being tried were regularly form lower economic bracket, and the jury was from the higher economic bracket

99
Q

What’s the new system for grand jury selection?

A

random selection; better represents community; helps address possible biases

100
Q

What make us a trial jury?

A

12 person jury in district courts, 6 person jury in county and justice of the peace courts

101
Q

What is elite?

A

educated, wealthy, not representative of communities es, race, or ethnicity

102
Q

Who makes up elite participation?

A

attorneys (law degree, must be licensed) and judges

103
Q

What are the terms in office for judges in Texas?

A

district: 4 years, appellate: 6 years

104
Q

How are judges removed?

A

by impeachment, they’re usually reelected 75% of the time

105
Q

How are judges elected?

A

partisan judicial elections

106
Q

What are reasons for appointing judges?

A

judiciary is more protected from biasing decisions, voters don’t know who judiciary candidates are, or when to vote for them

107
Q

Judges solicitation funds in Texas is perfectly legal, T/F

A

true

108
Q

What’s the problem with the death penalty?

A

less popular support for capital punishment, deterrence effect is doubted, delays are crazy, super expensive to keep someone on death row, errors in the form of wrongful convictions

109
Q

What is one constitutional amendment that can’t be honored by Texas law or federal civl cases?

A

the right to a speedy trial; Texas no longer has speedy trial guarantees that specify maximum time periods

POLS207 - State and Local Government (6 decks)

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