AP U.S. Government and Politics Notes- Chapter 17
Chapter 17 Identifications
Elite Theory: The chosen few or elite make all important decisions in society, while the masses simply respond to the desires of the elites.
Bureaucratic Theory: All institutions, non governmental and governmental , have fallen under the control of a large and ever growing bureaucracy that carries out policy using standardized procedures.
Pluralist Theory: No single group dominates, the power shifts due to compromise and competition between diverse interest groups.
Agenda: A set of issues to be discussed or given attention
Policy Formulation: The crafting of appropriate and acceptable proposed courses of action to ameliorate or resolve public problems
Policy Adoption: The approval of a policy proposed by the people with the requisite authority such as a legislature.
Policy Implementation: the process of carrying out public policy through governmental agencies and the courts.
Authoritative Techniques (e): “Command and control regulation.” rests on the notion that people's actions must be directed or restrained by government in order to prevent or eliminate activities or products that are unsafe, unfair, evil , or immoral (ex. Federal government terminating funds to colleges due to lame of compliance with Title IX).
Incentive Techniques (e): encourage people to act in their own best interest by offering payoffs or financial inducements to get them to comply with public policies. Ex. Tax cuts for charitable donations, Farmers receiving subsidies to make their production/non production of cotton, wheat, and other goods more profitable.
Capacity techniques (e): provides people with information, education, training, or resources that will enable them to participate in desired activities, The assumption underlying this is that people have the incentive or desire to do what is right but lack the capacity to do so. Ex. Job training to enable able bodied people to find work; accurate information on interest rates enable people to protect themselves from price gouging.
Policy Evaluation: The process of determining whether a course of action is achieving its intended goals.
New Deal (s): An array of programs meant to put people back to work which would “eliminate the threat that enforced idleness brings to spiritual and moral stability. Established the notion that in extreme circumstances the government might become the employer of last resort.
Social Security Act (p): A 1935 law that established:
1. old-age insurance (Social Security)
2. assistance for the needy, children, and others,
3. unemployment insurance.
Payroll tax equal to 1% from both employer and employee, but set to rise 1 point a year to 3%, the payroll tax being applied to the first $3000 of income. For unemployment, workers paid 3% of their salary into a fund to draw from if they lost their job.
American Medical Association (s): Dominant force in American medicine at the time of the New Deal. It is the reason that the social security act did not contain health insurance.
GI Bill: Paid for college for many World War II veterans.
Means Tested Program (e): income security program intended to assist those whose incomes fall below a designated level. Ex. Medicaid, food stamps.
Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC): broad assistance program, includes not only dependent children without fathers but also mothers themselves, or other adults with whom dependent children are living.
Welfare Reform Act of 1996 (p): switched from an open ended matching program to a black grant to the states. Provisions:
1. requirement for single mothers with children over 5 to work within 2 years of receiving benefits.
2. unmarried mothers under 18 have to live with an adult and go to school for benefits
3. five year lifetime limit for aid
4. mothers must provide information about a child's father to receive welfare payments
5. cutting of SSI and Food stamps for legal immigrants
6. cutting off cash welfare benefits and food stamps for convicted felons
7. limiting food stamps to three months in a three year period to those without children and jobs
Earned Income Tax Credit: Helps working poor by subsidizing their wages. Results in a net cash rebate for many low income tax payers who pay no federal income tax.
Entitlement programs (e,s): Income security programs to which all those meeting eligibility criteria are entitled. The significance is that the government MUST provide funding for them until the law creating them is changed. Ex. Social Security. Food stamps.
