POSC 225 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SET A+
✔✔Redistricting - ✔✔The redrawing every 10 years of congressional and other
legislative district lines following the census, to accommodate population shifts and
keep districts as equal as possible in population.
✔✔Senate Activity - ✔✔More floor oriented
100 senators
more time to speak and publicize views
run for 6 years and have more influence than the house
✔✔Criticisms of the congressional process - ✔✔slow and inefficient, bias and
empowers minority a lot, spending money that we dont have
✔✔Article 2 section 3 includes the take care clause, which clause does it most
resemble - ✔✔necessary and proper clause: both general statements that take care of
clauses and give the branches opportunity to expand powers from what the constitution
states.
✔✔The Development of the Federal Bureaucracy - ✔✔-diverse collection of
departments, agencies, commissions, and other units of executive branch that carry out
national policies
-Congress has created executive branch agencies with authority to implement laws it
passes, and presidents have necessarily delegated their executive chores to numerous
subordinate agents
-over two thousand departments, bureaus, agencies, and commissions
✔✔Issues with Delegation - ✔✔someone unable to do the job, those given the job do
not get it done, people should be selected on ability to do job and should have all the
resources to succeed
✔✔Characteristics of Early Bureaucracy - ✔✔spoils system: more democratic, rewarded
those who helped politicians with office, leads to jackson becoming unfair to those who
didnt agree with his views, inefficient bevause people were based off of who they
, supported not their skills, bribe candidates, stealing from government, lead to change in
government (president was assassinated because they didnt get the job they were
promised)
-merit based
✔✔Civil Service Reform - ✔✔Pendleton Act of 1883
Career bureaucrats
Brought back merit system...
Issues were that times changed therefore so have opinions, couldn't be fired too easily
Disadvantage for a president because of different political views that you can't get rid of
✔✔Why dont we have an ideal bureaucracy? - ✔✔1. Impossibility of tasks
-Agency objectives are often not only complicated but goals themselves are often vague
and indefinite.
2. Difficulty measuring performance
-Can't gauge performance, then you can't improve performance
3. Expansionary tendencies
-Agencies always feel they need more money, more personnel, and more time
-Congress can't grant unlimited funds to every agency (trade-offs must occur)
4. Slow to change
-Need for standard procedures that are consistent over time but, the other extreme is
problematic too
5. Red tape:
-Lots of regulations that need to be followed, hurdles that need to be cleared
-but everything seems to take more time and involve more people than it should
✔✔Casework - ✔✔when members of congress step in to solve constituent problems
with the bureaucracy (fixing pothot, grandma social security check etc.)
✔✔Pork Barrel spending - ✔✔when money is spent directly towards the congress
people (park, new overpass,) to make it better for them
✔✔Negatives to pork barrel spending - ✔✔if a congress person doesnt get funds, then
you suffer as a congressmen
✔✔credit claiming - ✔✔when members of congress get credit for what they have done
(law passed) not always possible because people in your district could disagree
✔✔franking privilege - ✔✔members of congress can send out campaign mailers for free
(only incumbents)
✔✔casework, pork barrel spending, credit claiming and franking priviledge - ✔✔ALL
ARE THINGS THAT MAKE INCUMBENTS SO SUCCESSFUL IN GETTING
REELECTED
✔✔Redistricting - ✔✔The redrawing every 10 years of congressional and other
legislative district lines following the census, to accommodate population shifts and
keep districts as equal as possible in population.
✔✔Senate Activity - ✔✔More floor oriented
100 senators
more time to speak and publicize views
run for 6 years and have more influence than the house
✔✔Criticisms of the congressional process - ✔✔slow and inefficient, bias and
empowers minority a lot, spending money that we dont have
✔✔Article 2 section 3 includes the take care clause, which clause does it most
resemble - ✔✔necessary and proper clause: both general statements that take care of
clauses and give the branches opportunity to expand powers from what the constitution
states.
✔✔The Development of the Federal Bureaucracy - ✔✔-diverse collection of
departments, agencies, commissions, and other units of executive branch that carry out
national policies
-Congress has created executive branch agencies with authority to implement laws it
passes, and presidents have necessarily delegated their executive chores to numerous
subordinate agents
-over two thousand departments, bureaus, agencies, and commissions
✔✔Issues with Delegation - ✔✔someone unable to do the job, those given the job do
not get it done, people should be selected on ability to do job and should have all the
resources to succeed
✔✔Characteristics of Early Bureaucracy - ✔✔spoils system: more democratic, rewarded
those who helped politicians with office, leads to jackson becoming unfair to those who
didnt agree with his views, inefficient bevause people were based off of who they
, supported not their skills, bribe candidates, stealing from government, lead to change in
government (president was assassinated because they didnt get the job they were
promised)
-merit based
✔✔Civil Service Reform - ✔✔Pendleton Act of 1883
Career bureaucrats
Brought back merit system...
Issues were that times changed therefore so have opinions, couldn't be fired too easily
Disadvantage for a president because of different political views that you can't get rid of
✔✔Why dont we have an ideal bureaucracy? - ✔✔1. Impossibility of tasks
-Agency objectives are often not only complicated but goals themselves are often vague
and indefinite.
2. Difficulty measuring performance
-Can't gauge performance, then you can't improve performance
3. Expansionary tendencies
-Agencies always feel they need more money, more personnel, and more time
-Congress can't grant unlimited funds to every agency (trade-offs must occur)
4. Slow to change
-Need for standard procedures that are consistent over time but, the other extreme is
problematic too
5. Red tape:
-Lots of regulations that need to be followed, hurdles that need to be cleared
-but everything seems to take more time and involve more people than it should
✔✔Casework - ✔✔when members of congress step in to solve constituent problems
with the bureaucracy (fixing pothot, grandma social security check etc.)
✔✔Pork Barrel spending - ✔✔when money is spent directly towards the congress
people (park, new overpass,) to make it better for them
✔✔Negatives to pork barrel spending - ✔✔if a congress person doesnt get funds, then
you suffer as a congressmen
✔✔credit claiming - ✔✔when members of congress get credit for what they have done
(law passed) not always possible because people in your district could disagree
✔✔franking privilege - ✔✔members of congress can send out campaign mailers for free
(only incumbents)
✔✔casework, pork barrel spending, credit claiming and franking priviledge - ✔✔ALL
ARE THINGS THAT MAKE INCUMBENTS SO SUCCESSFUL IN GETTING
REELECTED
