POSC exam 1 review Questions & Answers Already Passed!!

What is the definition of representative democracy? - Answer-citizens vote an official who will represents them in government instead of a direct democracy What are the top three categories of federal spending? - Answer-social security, medicare (elderly) and medicaid (poor), defense, interest on US debt What is the relationship between income/unemployment and college degrees - Answer-the more degree you have the more money you make and less unemployment Which document establishes government legitimacy in the USA? - Answer-The constitution places limits on government power What are public goods? - Answer-government sources that everyone uses but the private sector does not provide because no profit. (parks, highways, clean air and water) What are the assumptions of Pluralist theory? - Answer--Power in the US is diffused among multiple IG -Link people to government - all Ig have resources they can use in political processes(power)(labor union) -No IG can dominate and exclude other IG -policy result of compromise -people in IG govern What are the assumptions of Elite theory? - Answer--every society divided into two strata: elite and the masses -elites have more a resource than anyone else -types of elites: corporate, government, military and religious. -strongest elites are corporate -revolving door: elites move from corporate to government to enact laws the benefit them, then go back to corporate.-Democracy is a sham: always serves elite Give names of religious elites - Answer-The pope Give names of political elites - Answer-Trump, clintons, bush family, carter family How do elites influence government according to Elite theory? - Answer-Corporate elite will fund political campaigns in exchange that those new leaders favor them in decision making. Who has power according to elite theory? - Answer-corporate elites What is legitimacy? - Answer-people obey government for two reasons: Fear and people believe that laws are good for them and influenced by them What is the social contract? - Answer-an implicit agreement among the members of a society to cooperate for social benefits How is Americans' tax burden compared to other similarly advanced countries? - Answer-We have relatively low taxes compared to other advanced countries but we have the most expensive health care and higher education. What are the various definitions of politics - Answer--process to secure value (good standard of living) -peaceful resolution of conflict -competition between IG pursuing their own self-interest - allocation of resources (taxes) According to elite theory, what is the purpose of democracy in the United States? - Answer-the purpose of democracy is to divide the poeple into elite and the masses and only the elite run governemnt. Is it constitutionally admissible for police to rough up illegal immigrants while arresting them? Why? - Answer-No, Because the 14th amendment states that any PERSON in the US has constitutional to be treated in a just manner and a right to an attorney.What is centralized federalism? - Answer-The relationship between the national and state governments whereby the national government imposes its policy preferences on state governments. What statements prove that the Founding Fathers carried a coup d'etat - Answer-Madison kept his notes Why did the Founding Fathers create the Electoral College? - Answer-2 reasons the founding fathers created the Electoral college is because they didn't trust the people to vote correctly and they needed a way to represent slaves without letting them vote Can a state pass a law the denies the application of anti-discrimination laws to homosexuals? Why? - Answer-No, because the federal government has implied power over the state government