The USA Flashcards
What are the branches that make up the US govt?
- The president and the Executive branch
- Congress (Legislative branch)
- Judicial branch
What is the job of the President and the Executive branch?
The president runs the executive branch of the government. Their job is to carry out the laws and to run the country.
What is the job of the Congress (Legislative branch)?
The US Congress is the equivalent of the UK Parliament. Congress writes the laws that the executive branch carries out.
What is the job of the Judicial branch?
The Judicial branch is designed to make sure that the laws that congress writs and the actions that the president takes are in line with the original aims of the founders.
Why are supreme court judges appointed for life?
Supreme court judges are appointed for life to try and stop them being influenced by having to run for election or the threat of being fired.
The Executive branch
- The president and vice president are elected for every 4 years
- A person may only be president for 2 terms total (8 years)
The Legislative branch
- Contains the people who make the vast majority of laws
- Senate and the House of Representatives, Senators and congressmen and women. collectively known as Congress
- Represent US citizens and take forward ideas of the public in the form of bills which may go onto become law
The Judicial branch
- Once the legislative branch and the judicial branch have both passed the bill then it goes to the judicial branch (Supreme court)
- They make sure that the bill is constitutional and is to be followed
- The Supreme court is the highest court in the judicial branch and consists of a judge (Supreme court Justices) who are appointed by appointed by a president when a previous judge dies or retires.
State Government
- Each of the 50 states has its own govt
- The person that runs the state is called a Governor
-Police departments, libraries and schools etc usually fall under the oversight of the state and federal govts
Powers of the state governments
- Ownership of property
- Operating of social welfare systems
Senators and Representatives?
- 100 senators, senators serve 6 years and approximately 1/3 are elected every 2 years
- 435 representatives, Congressmen and women serve 2 year terms. They are elected both at the same time as the president and during “mid terms”
Separation of powers/checks and balances
- Americans believe it is dangerous to have the powers of all three branches held by one person
- This is why each branch is kept separate as set out in the constitution
- For a bill to become law it has to pass both the houses of congress and be signed by the president
- Even then the Supreme court may see it as unconstitutional
Whats the situation with Healthcare in the US?
- Not free, have to pay for private healthcare schemes
- Extremely costly
- Blacks and Hispanics are 3x more likely to have no medical insurance cover
Why are minorities less likely to have medical insurance cover?
Minority families tend to be less well off financially and therefore cannot afford the medical insurance cover
Health problems facing Blacks and Hispanics
- African American women are more likely to do in child birth than other groups
- Drug and gang related problems mean that Blacks and Hispanics are my likely to die due to guns and drugs
- Linked to drug abuse is the incidence of AIDS which is on the increase
- Obesity: 30% of Blacks and 25% of Hispanics are obese
- Higher infant mortality rate
