Amendment Make Up

Constitutional Amendment #13
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Summary- Slavery is illegal unless it is as a punishment for a serious crime, such as forced labor in prison.

This is very important because it ended the enslavement of African Americans in the United States and furthered our economic and human rights growth.

Country Health Care Notes

United Kingdom:
- socialized medicine
- spend 8.3% GDP
- government run National Health Service
- citizens pay health care taxes
- more choices and becoming more competitive
- youth and elderly exempt from drug co-pays

Japan:
- social insurance model
- 8% GDP
- ave. family premium $280.00/month employers usually pay ~1/2
- co-pay 30% procedure cost capped based on income
- assistance for poor
- can go to any specialist as often as they like
- gov negotiates prices with physicians
- spends too little on health care many hospitals don't make enough
- Japan spends the least, has the healthiest people, and has the most technology

Germany:
- social insurance model
- 10.7% GDP
- ave. family premium $750.00/month capped by income
- co-pay 10 euro/ 3 months, pregnant exempt
- birthplace of social insurance, similar to Japan
- can buy their insurance from one ore more of 200~ non-profit "sickness funds"
- poor receive assistance
- can not deny coverage b/c of preexisting conditions
- "sickness funds" bargain with doctors as a group
- compete for members
- single payment system, leaves some doctors underpaid
- rich can opt out for U.S. style profit insurance

Taiwan: 
- National Health Insurance
- 6.3% GDP
- $650/yr family of 4
- all citizens have insurance through one gov insurer
- co-pay 20 percent of the cost of drugs up to $6.50; up to $7 for outpatient care; $1.80 for dental and
traditional Chinese medicine exemptions for major diseases, childbirth, preventive services, and for
 the poor, veterans, and children
- working people pay premiums 1/2 from employers, non working pay flat rates with gov help
- similar to Canada's
- can see any doctor w/out referal
- lowest administrative costs in the world
- not taking enough money to cover what it provides

Switzerland:
- Social insurance
- 11.6% GDP
- $750.00/month for families, gov subsidies for poor
- co-pay 10% of the cost
- required that you are part of the nation's social insurance
- universal coverage
- no favoritism in the system
- capitalist competitive system
- no gate keeper doctors
- drug prices slightly higher

All of the countries have pretty much the same life expectancy rate at birth but Japan has the highest.


 

Groups and Bureaucracy

1.a)  Freedom of speech and press protect individuals who want to have their voice heard. The
government may not restrict anyone from saying or writing what they want. However, if  something
extremely crude or violating others safety is written or said they may be punished, but not prevented.

b) Interest groups may take many routes in an effort to influence public policy through grass roots mobilization, lobbying and litigation. They may influence policy through grass roots mobilization by organizing citizens to try to speak out and try to make a difference. They do so through lobbying by directly contacting policy makers and offering information while trying to convince them to support policy in their favor. Litigation can be used to get your way by using cases and amicus curiae briefs.

c) One specific federal regulation on interest groups are campaign finance laws and prohibition of bribery.

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap10_us_govt_politics_q1.pdf

2.a) The merit system is a way if hiring based on ability and experience.

b). The structure of the bureaucracy contributes to bureaucratic independence because it is hard to control such a large, specialized system. The complexity of public policy problems also contribute to their independence because they are so specialized and they have discretionary authority.

c)   Congress can check the bureaucracy using appropriations, if you are not doing a good job you don't get the money.  The courts can regulate by judicial review. Interest groups can check them using freedom of speech and other provisions in the first amendment.

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap10_us_govt_politics_q2.pdf

Annotated Bibilography, Earthday

Kitchell, Mark. "Watch Film: A Fierce Green Fire." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.

"A Fierce Green Fire" is an educational video on the movements that lead up to the origin of earth day. This video was produced by Frontline, PBS's educational video source. The video goes through three stories of environmental issues. One is about a woman who lived in an area called Love Canal. Love Canal was seriously polluted by industrial waste that was buried years before in the area and started seeping up through the soil. Almost all of the babies born that year had birth defects and many people were seriously ill. One woman took a stand against this and got the entire community involved in getting the government to get the area cleaned up. This is a reliable source and I plan to use it again on future research.

"Earth Day: The History of A Movement." Earth Day Network Main. Earth Day Network, n.d. Web. 03 May 2014. <http://www.earthday.org/earth-day-history-movement>.

This short educational article explains the origin of earth day and the event surrounding it. It takes a lot to create a movement but with all the commotion surrounding the Vietnam war, the Hippie movement, and the change in industrial standards environmentalists had grounds to stand on to start a revolution. The Vietnam War created distrust in the government and people rose up to stop the slaughter and create a healthier America. America's youth saw the pollution and issues and decided to make a change. Rachel Carson's Silent Spring brought every ones attention to chemical pollution and its likely outcome. In 1970 earth day capitalized on America's new conscious. Its creator Gaylord Nelson came up with the idea after 20 million Americans took to the streets to protest April 22. I believe this is a reliable source because it is a .org website and it follows all of the information I have heard previously.

 "American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 07 May 2014.

This source has provided a timeline of the environmental movement for the last 60 years beginning in 1948 with the Water Pollution Control Act. Following that act was the first U.S. conference on air pollution as a reaction to 20 deaths due to sulfur dioxide emissions from a steel wire plant. Other noted events were 170-260 New Yorkers killed by smog in 1953.  President Eisenhower's State of the Union address on air pollution in '55 and an amendment to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948. In 1960 CO2 emissions climbed above 300ppm and in '62 "Silent Spring" was published bringing widespread awareness of chemical pollution. '63 the Clean Air Act passed and in '66 the first legislation on endangered species went through. April 22, 1970 was the first Earth Day. Today, we are doing our best to improve emissions and 76% of Americans consider themselves environmentalists.

Interest Groups

(1999_2)National interest groups often target national-level policy making institutions to achieve their policy objectives.

Select one of the following national interest groups.
- AARP
- AMA (Medical Association
- NAACP
- NAM (national assoc. of Manufacturers)

For the group you selected do each of the following.
- a identify one major national-level policy making institution that this group targets.
- b describe one resource or characteristic of the group you have chosen and explain how it influences the choice of the target you have identified in (a)
- c describe another resource or characteristic of the group you have chosen and explain how it influences the choice of the target you have identified in (a).

 a) The AARP targets Congress do get their policies and legislation passed.
b) The AARP tries to pass legislation benefiting retirees such as medicare congress can help them by writing legislation and getting it passed.
c) Congress is made up of older people. So many of them pass the legislation because it is mutually beneficial for older people.

 http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/repository/govpol_us_99.pdf

presidential election campaigns

(1999_1)In the 1990’s presidential election campaigns have become more candidate centered and less focused on issues and party labels. The change has been attributed both to how the media cover presidential campaigns and to how candidates use the media.
1) Identify and explain two ways in which the media have contributed to candidate-centered presidential campaigns.
2) Identify and explain two ways in which presidential candidates’ use of the media has contributed to candidate-centered campaigns.

Your answer should not include a discussion of presidential primary elections.

1) Two ways in which the media has contributed to candidate-centered presidential campaigns are image centered coverage/ personality coverage and coverage of the backgrounds of candidate's. Image centered coverage has become more important since elections have become televised. The more attractive candidate tends to be more well liked. It has also become important for voters to know who the candidates are for likability purposes.

2) Two ways in which presidential candidates’ use of the media has contributed to candidate-centered campaigns. Presidents have historically used the media to make themselves look good one way in which they do that is by pre scripting their interviews and only taking interviews they can control.  They also use the media to show the good work they do, to gain support.
    


http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/repository/sg_gov_pol_us_99.up_7047.pdf

Bureaucratic systems

a) One key characteristic of the merit system is hiring based on merit and testing rather than favoritism.

b) The structure of the federal bureaucracy contributes to bureaucratic independence by being large, specialized and merit based. Because the bureaucratic agencies are so specialized there is not much intervention by the state. The complexity of public policy problems also contribute because agencies are delegated authority —because Congress and the president cannot handle everything, they delegate authority to the bureaucracy. 

c) Congress, The Courts and Interest Groups can check the bureaucracy based on constitutional provision. Congress can do so by rejecting presidential appointments to the bureaucracy. The courts can judicially review and declare bureaucratic actions unconstitutional. Interest groups can use the first amendment to protest and lobby against the bureaucracy.  

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap10_us_govt_politics_q2.pdf

Partisanship change over time

a) The percentage of southern seats in the house held by democrats has been steadily decreasing for centuries.
b) Southern voters elected Democratic candidates to Congress more frequently than they elected Democratic candidates to the presidency because of incumbency advantage. Even though southerners started to lean Republican in choosing presidential candidates they felt safer keeping their incumbents, who were often Democrats, in the house. Another reason is differences between state and national parties which are independent of each other. To get votes Democratic congressional candidates responded to local interests, whereas Democratic presidential candidates responded to a national constituency.
c) Parties have changed in composition with respect to Catholics and women. Catholics have become less democratic voters over the years. Women have become more supportive of Democratic candidates and have become a large part of the Democratic voting population.    

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap10_us_govt_politics_q3.pdf

Bureaucratic Agencies

2006-3 The United States congress and the president together have the power to enact federal law. Federal bureaucratic agencies have the responsibility to execute federal law. However, in the carrying out of these laws, federal agencies have policy making discretion.
(1) Explain two reasons why Congress gives federal agencies policy making discretion in executing federal laws.
(2) Choose one of the bureaucratic agencies listed below. Identify the policy area over which it exercises policy-making discretion and give one specific example of how it exercises that discretion.
a. Environmental Protection Agency
b. Federal Communications Commission
c. Federal Reserve board
(3) Describe two ways in which Congress ensures that federal agencies follow legislative intent.

1) Two reasons why Congress gives federal agencies policy making discretion in executing federal laws are congress does not want to be blamed for bad policy and agencies have the expertise that congress does not to create new policy.  
2) The Environmental Protection Agency exercises policy-making discretion over clean air and water laws they do this by working with companies like BP to keep our waters clean.
3) Congress ensures that federal agencies follow legislative intent by using legislative oversight and budget appropriations.


http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/_ap06_gopo_us_sg.pdf

Entitlement Programs

2006-2 In recent decades, entitlement programs have constituted a substantial portion of the United States federal budget. Social Security is the largest entitlement program in the US. From the information in the chart above, and your knowledge of the US government and politics, perform the following tasks.
(a) Define entitlement program
(b) What is the primary source of revenue for the Social Security program
(c) Identify one threat to the future of the Social security program should the trends depicted in the chart continue
(d) Describe on demographic trend that threatens the future of the Social Security program and explain how it is responsible for the threat that you identified in (c )
(e) Explain how any one of the trends in the chart above would change if the age of eligibility for social security were raised.

a) Entitlement programs are government-sponsored programs providing mandated/guarantee/required benefits to those who meet eligibility requirements/qualifications.
b)  The primary source of revenue for the Social Security program is taxes of different sorts mostly payroll and earned income taxes,
c) One threat to the future of the Social security program is the increasing number of retirees who can not be sustained by the smaller number of people entering the work force so we are going to run out of money for seniors. The trends in the cart should continue.
d) There are more older people and people are living longer, that is why we may run out of money.
e) If the age eligibility for social security was increased the amount of money we have for social security would stop decreasing at such a fast rate and hopefully even out and start increasing again soon. 



http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/_ap06_gopo_us_sg.pdf

BP oil spill bibliography

"The Spill." PBS. PBS, 26 Oct. 2010" Web. 17 Mar. 2014.This PBS frontline video illustrates the shortcuts BP has taken in the last ten years and the consequences of that. BP has been cutting budgets since the nineties and as a result they have had multiple disasters such as the Alaska disaster, the huge fire in Texas, the tanker falling over in the gulf and the huge oil spill in the gulf. All of these happened because BP has been cheep and refused to check and repair issues. PBS Frontline is a reliable source and I plan to reuse this source.

Granatstein, Solly. "Blowout: The Deepwater Horizon Disaster." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 16 May 2010. Web. 17 Mar. 2014. This 60 minutes video explains the issues and mistakes made that resulted in the deep water horizon rig explosion. A survivor of the explosion tells the story of the explosion and what led up to it. The two weeks before, many mistakes were made that were not reported so as to keep costs down. This is typical of BP. I trust this source it is an informational news chanel that creates movies. Although they may be bias the information is factual and I would not hesitate to reuse this site.

 Krauss, Clifford. "Oil and Gasoline." - Petroleum. The New York Times, 17 Mar. 2014. Web. 17 Mar. 2014. This is a daily update on oil use and oil companies by The New York Times yesterday's update was on how BP's ban in the gulf was lifted and how they plan to attend the auctioning off of new drilling sites next week. This will be the first auction BP attends since their agreement with the environmental protection agency. There have been 3 auctions since BP spilled millions of gallons into the gulf and killed 11 people. This article also goes over previous BP accidents. This is a reliable source and I plan on using it again.

President influence over domestic policy

2008-2)A number of factors enable presidents to exert influence over Congress in the area of domestic policy. However, presidents are also limited in their influence over domestic policy making in Congress.

-The Constitution grants the president certain enumerated powers. Describe two of these formal powers that enable the president to exert influence over domestic policy.

-Choose two of the following. Define each term and explain how each limits the president’s ability to influence domestic policy making in Congress.

*Mandatory spending

*Party polarization

*Lame-duck period

Two of the formal powers that enable the president to exert influence over domestic policy are legislative powers and appointment powers. With legislative powers the president can exercise use of the pocket veto and chooses whether to sign legislation. He also chooses who to appoint to certain offices such as the secretary of state.

Mandatory spending and party polarization limit the presidents ability to influence domestic policy. Mandatory spending is spending not controlled by annual budget decisions. This limits presidential influence by making it difficult to make budget cuts that accomplish policy goals. Party polarization is increased inter party differences. This results in a lack of moderates to build coalitions with and increased party opposition of policy goals. 


http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap08_us_gopo_q2.pdf

Congressional Reappointment

2008-1) Congressional reapportionment and redistricting are conducted every ten years. When redistricting is conducted, politicians often engage in gerrymandering.
(a) Define congressional reapportionment and explain one reason why it is important to states.
(b) Define congressional redistricting.
(c) Explain two goals of politicians when they gerrymander during redistricting.
(d) Describe two limits that the United State Supreme Court has placed on congressional redistricting.

a) Congressional reapportionment occurs every ten years when the 435 house seats are reevaluated based on the census. It is important to states because as opinions change and numbers of people in states change states want to have a representative congress.
b) Congressional redistricting is when you re draw district lines for the house.
c) Congress gerrymanders during redistricting so as to win certain districts and hold power using packing and cracking and to maintain incumbency.
d) Two limits that the United State Supreme Court has placed on congressional redistricting are they must be equally populated and can not be drawn based on race.


http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap08_us_gopo_q1.pdf

Meth Bibliography

"Big Pharma And Meth Cooks Agree: Keep Cold Meds Over The Counter." NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.

This radio show/ article explains and analyzes the meth outbreak of the last 20 years. NPR analyzes the production of meth and the danger in it. Much of the information in this article is on underground meth cooks cooking in their own kitchens using the shake and bake method and the how these methods are affecting America. I believe this is a credible site because NPR, National Public Radio, is a well known reliable educational source. This source was very helpful to my research and I plan to use it again.

Byker, Carl. "The Meth Epidemic." PBS Frontline. Ed. Andrew Metz. WGBH

    Educational Foundation, 17 May 2011. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.

    <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/meth/>. This video was an

    hour long informative video on the effects of meth use on the human body,

    families and our nation. Frontline tracks the spread of meth across the

    United States beginning in Oregon and spreading across the Mississippi and

    finally gaining recognition from Congress. After many years of issues in

    the west lawmakers were finally able to put amphetamine behind the counter

    and slow the meth making process in America. PBS Frontline is a highly

    qualified source whose goal is to inform the public on important issues and

    policy. Frontline videos analyze issues and inform. These videos are meant

    to be understood by the general public. I found this video very helpful and

    explanatory and plan to use this source again.

Hall, Katy. "The Methiest States In The U.S. (INFOGRAPHIC)." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 07 Oct. 2013. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.

This article describes how to make meth, and meth incidences and popularity in U.S. today. Thousands of meth labs around the country are still prevalent today. The shake and bake method has spread from the west and is now most popular in the Midwest, Missouri outranks the rest of the states with 1,825 meth lab busts and seizures. Pharmaceutical companies have been resisting the regulation of pseudophedrine for years. Only Oregon and Mississippi have succeeded in passing a law on it. I believe this is a credible source and will not hesitate to use it again. The visuals were great on this site.

Government distrust

Trust and confidence in government has declined in recent decades. This may be partially attributed to our divided government. Because we have one party controlling the executive office and another controlling one or both sections of congress there is distrust and strife in the government. Citizens tend to trust the government less when it is divided because moderates are frozen out and extremes drive legislation and the fighting between parties leads to little or no actual passing of bills and making things happen. Increased cost of election campaigns has also driven up government distrust. This is because people worry that elitism will take over when candidates need money for campaigns. The wealthy and large incorporations will be the ones contributing and people worry that will give big money too much in into the government. Decline in government trust has lead to greater protest and cynicism toward all government action it has also lead to decline in voting and more people claiming to be moderate or independent to avoid affiliation.


3) Trust and confidence in government have declined in recent decades.
(a) Explain how divided government has contributed to the decline in trust and confidence in government. Be sure to include a definition of divided government in your response
(b) Explain how the increased cost of election campaigns has contributed to the decline in trust and confidence in government.
(c) Explain two specific consequences of the decline in trust and confidence in government for individual political behavior. 

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/repository/ap04_sg_gopo_us_37090.pdf

Reelection of Incumbents

       The graph below shows incumbency reelection rates in the House and Senate. The graph displays many patterns. Two of them are, the tendency for Senate incumbency reelection rates to fluctuate much more than in the House and the tendency for Senate reelection rates to go up when House rates go down and vise versa. Two factors that contribute to incumbency advantage are the fact that citizens are afraid of change and as an incumbent you have greater access to the media and name recognition. People like things that they already know. The fact that your congressman hasn't done anything that really bothers you, even if the other guy's opinions are closer to yours, will usually lead you to choose the one that is already in office because it feels safer. Incumbency advantage is an issue for American politics because it makes congress less representative of the people. If we were electing new legislators every couple of years we would know that they are up to date and are educated on current issues and what the people want.

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/repository/sg_govpol_us_01_7046.pdf









(2001_2) the graph above shows reelection rates for incumbents in the House and Senate. From this information and your knowledge of of the US politics, perform the following tasks. (Fig 12.1)
a) identify two patterns displayed 
in the graph
b) identify 2 factors that contribute to incumbency advantage. Explain how each factor contributes to incumbency advantage.
c) Discuss one consequence of incumbency advantage for the US political process

Interest Groups vs. Political Parties

The fundamental goal of interest groups in the political process is to influence public policy. Where as the fundamental goal of political parties is to gain majority in the government and therefor gain control. Interest groups support the fundamental goal of political parties by contributing to political campaigns and gaining support for candidates. Contributing money to campaigns helps interest groups achieve their ultimate goal of influencing public policy because if the candidate wins they may feel indebted to the interest group and make decisions that benefit them. Or at least get them in contact with policy makers.

Media and Policy Agenda

2009-4 A policy agenda is a set of issues, problems or subjects in which people inside and out of the government are paying serious attention to. The media is an important part of policy agenda because it raises awareness of issues to citizens and policy makers. The media also provides information and explains issues with policies, and consequences for policies not made or changed, to people. The president gets more media attention then congress because the president is one person where as congress is composed of many members. Also the president is the face of our country, he has greater power, and represents all people where each person in congress represents an area. Citizens who pay most attention to national news are older. Young people are less interested in government issues and policy agenda. There are implications for the president using the media to promote their agenda however. Some of these issues include the age of the audience of nightly news and decreased news viewing. The lack of young people watching the news means less awareness of what is going on from the generation that needs to hear it.

The Past and Future of North Korea

 

        Since World War II North Korea has been through a lot. After Japan evacuated Korea the Soviet Union entered North Korea and the U.S. entered South Korea to protect them from the north. In 1943 the Peoples Republic of Korea was declared and the Soviets left. However the peace didn't last because the south declared independence and North Korea invaded South Korea. Led by, Soviet trained, Kim Il-sung. After the loss of two million lives, an armistice ended the war in 1953 and from then on North Korea hid from the rest of the world.
        In the early 1990's North and South Korea agreed to join the United Nations but North Korea refuses to allow access to suspected nucular weapon facilities. In 1994 Kim Il-sung died and was succeeded by his son Kim Jung-il. Kim Jung-il agreed to freeze nucular programs in exchange for fuel and two nucular reacters, which the US provided. In 1996 great famine hit North Korea and the UN aided the wounded nation. Thousands of people starved or died of disease.
         Today, North Korea is under the rein of Kim Jung-il's son Kim Jung-un. The country's economy and people are still hurting from the famine. Orphaned children live on the streets freezing or starving to death. Piles of garbage lie everywhere and the cities are filthy. Department stores have merchandise but it is all for show and none of it is for sale. It is just used to show on TV to convince their people that they live in a country of plenty. Kim Jung-un is a less respected leader than his predecessors and because of this more people are willing to participate in illegal actions.
         Change is stirring in North Korea. More and more people are willing to break the law and buy illegal items like thumb drives with American movies on them. These movies show North Koreans what it is like to live in a world where people are happy and free. Because of these movies and other things I believe a revolution is coming. The people are going to take over the government or just flee the country. People in North Korea have seen what the outside world is like and they are no longer with their situation. I think change is coming fast for North Korea.

Sources:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15278612
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/fighting_words/2010/02/a_nation_of_racist_dwarfs.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/secret-state-of-north-korea/