HGov: Fiscal Policy

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Through its fiscal policy, Washington attempts to maintain a strong and stable economy—one characterized by high productivity, high employment, and low inflation. Fiscal policy is based on government decisions in regard to spending and taxing, which are aimed at either stimulating a weak economy or dampening an overheated (inflationary) economy. Fiscal policy is worked out through Congress and the president and consequently is responsive to political pressures. However, because it is difficult to raise taxes or cut programs, the government’s ability to apply fiscal policy as an economic remedy is somewhat limited.

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Homework:
1) Read Chapter 14 pp.445-474
2) Read Chapter 15 pp.481-511

Seasons Greetings

HGov: Economic Policy

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Business is the major beneficiary of the federal government’s efforts to promote economic interests. A large number of programs, including those that provide loans and research grants, are designed to assist business firms, which are also protected from failure through measures such as tariffs and favorable tax laws. Labor, for its part, obtains government assistance through laws covering areas such as worker safety, the minimum wage, and collective bargaining. Yet America’s individualistic culture tends to put labor at a disadvantage, keeping it less powerful than business in its dealings with the government. Agriculture is another economic sector that depends substantially on government’s help, particularly in the form of income stabilization programs such as crop subsidies.

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Homework:
1) Read Chapter 14 pp.445-474
2) Read Chapter 15 pp.481-511

HGov: Environmental Policy

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The U.S. government pursues policies that are designed to protect and conserve the environment. A few decades ago, the environment was not a policy priority. Today, there are many programs in this area, and the public has become an active participant in efforts to conserve resources and prevent exploitation of the environment. The continuing challenge is to find a proper balance among the nation’s natural environment, its economic growth, and its energy needs.

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Homework:
1) Read Chapter 14 pp.445-474
2) Read Chapter 15 pp.481-511

HGov: Economic Functions of Government

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Although private enterprise is the main force in the American economic system, the federal government plays a significant role through its policies to regulate, promote, and stimulate the economy.

Regulatory policy is designed to achieve efficiency and equity, which require the government to intervene, for example, to maintain competitive trade practices, an efficiency goal, and to protect vulnerable parties in economic transactions, an equity goal. Many of the regulatory decisions of the federal government, particularly those of older agencies, such as the Food and Drug Administration, are made largely in the context of group politics. Business lobbies have an especially strong influence on the regulatory policies that affect them. In general, newer regulatory agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, have policy responsibilities that are broader in scope and apply to a larger number of firms than those of the older agencies. As a result, the policy decisions of the newer agencies are more often made in the context of party politics. Republican administrations are less vigorous in their regulation of business than are Democratic administrations.

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Homework:
1) Read Chapter 14 pp.445-474
2) Read Chapter 15 pp.481-511

HGov: Chapter 14 Review

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The U.S. judicial system has evolved over more than two centuries to meet the needs of a changing society. Today’s federal and state courts not only resolve conflicts, but also shape public policy through the judicial review process.

The United States has two separate but related court systems: one federal and one state. The two systems maintain exclusive jurisdiction in some areas but overlap when cases involve both state and federal laws.

Each state has its own hierarchy of courts. Trial courts of limited and general jurisdiction handle most cases. Intermediate appeals courts and state courts of last resort review cases appealed from the lower courts.

Most cases involving federal law and the Constitution are tried in U.S. district courts. Decisions made there can be appealed to higher courts, including the Supreme Court. The federal judicial system also include special courts with very specific jurisdictions.

Many state judges are elected or appointed by the governor or legislature. In states using merit selection, judges are appointed and then confirmed by voters in a retention election. Federal judges are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

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Homework:
1) Read Chapter 14 pp.445-474
2) Read Chapter 15 pp.481-511

HGov: Tenth Amendment Case Study

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The Tenth Amendment restates that any powers not granted to the federal government nor prohibited to the states are reserved to the states and to the people.

In the case of United States v. Morrison, the Violence Against Women Act that allowed victims of domestic violence to sue their attackers in federal court. The Court struck down this law saying that violent crime between individuals was an issue for the states not the federal government.

 

 

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Homework:
1) Read Chapter 14 pp.445-474
2) Read Chapter 15 pp.481-511

HGov: Ninth Amendment Case Study

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The Ninth Amendment provides that people’s rights are not restricted to those specified in Amendments 1 through 8. Some of these unlisted rights were later protected under other amendments and laws.

In the case of Griswold v. Connecticut, Estelle Griswold, an official with the Planned Parenthood League of Connecticut, had been arrested for providing medical advice to married couples on how to prevent pregnancy. Her actions violated a Connecticut law that prohibited the use of contraceptives. In its decision, the Court declared that the law violated marital privacy rights. The Court said that it was an implied right in the First, Third, and Fourth amendments. The Ninth Amendment provides further support by stating that a right need not be cited in the Constitution to be valid.

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Homework:
1) Read Chapter 14 pp.445-474
2) Read Chapter 15 pp.481-511

Mele Kalikimaka

HGov: Eighth Amendment Case Study

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The Eighth Amendment protects against excessive bail or fines and forbids cruel or unusual punishment. Bail is money given over to the court in exchange for a suspect’s release until his or her trial begins.

Most of the legal challenges to this amendment have involved the prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. In Furman v. Georgia, the Court focused on the death penalty. It concluded that capital punishment was cruel and unusual when it was inconsistently and unequally applied from one case to another. Too often people convicted of a capital crime received very different penalties. One might be sentenced to life in prison while the other was condemned to death. The Court’s decision put a sudden halt to all executions in the United States.

In Gregg v. Georgia, the Court concluded that the death penalty was constitutional under the new laws. As a result, capital punishment became a sentencing option in most states.

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Homework:
1) Read Chapter 14 pp.445-474
2) Read Chapter 15 pp.481-511