1. Policy in the U.S Domestic Policy, Economic Policy, and Foreign Policy By: Erica Yedwab, Jacob Mason, & Abel Fernandez

2. Domestic Policy Politics- The process by which we select our governmental leaders and what policies they produce Domestic Policy- Any policy designed to target problems within a nation's borders (i.e. crime in the US) Types of Politics a.Majoritarian Politics b.Interest Groups Politics c.Client Politics d.Entrepreneurial Politics

3. Types of Politics Costs vs. Benefits Costs- Burdens people must bear because of policy Benefits- Any satisfaction people expect to receive from a policy Majoritarian Politics Gives benefits to large numbers Distributes the costs among large numbers Generally fought out in large public debates They address basic ideological beliefs and are disputed over in the visible institutions of government (elections and legislative debates) Ex. Military Budget, Social Security

4. Types of Politics Interest Group Politics Give benefits to a small number of people Cost are imposed upon another small group of people They are addressed out of the public eye (executive agencies and legislative committees) Ex. Labor Unions vs. Businesses Client Politics A relatively small group benefits The group has some sort of incentive to organize Cost is distributed widely They are addressed out of the public eye Most people are unaware of these costs Ex. Pork Barrel Projects, Healthcare programs that benefit special groups and are paid for by general taxes, Regulation of Milk, Agricultural Quotas

5. Types of Politics Entrepreneurial Politics Widespread benefits Cost imposed on a small group Relies on entrepreneurs to put into action Its success depends upon the the people who work on behalf of the unorganized majorities Ex. Antipollution and safety requirements for automobiles to improve the health and well-being of all people, but at the expense of the automobile manufacturers

6. The Policymaking System ●Policymaking System- The process by which policy comes into being and evolves over time

7. The Policymaking System People Interests Problems Concerns Linkage Institutions Linkage Institutions- The political channels through which people’s concerns become political issues on the policy agenda Political Parties Elections News & Entertainment Media Interest Groups

8. The Policymaking System Policy Agenda Policy Agenda- Issues that attract the serious attention of public officials Political issues arise when people disagree about a problem and how to fix it Some issues will be considered, and others will not A government’s policy agenda changes regularly Setting the agenda The major driving forces for creating new policy: Interest Groups Institutions (i.e. the media, bureaucracy, Senate, and courts) Action by the states Evaluating the Political Agenda

9. The Policymaking System Policymaking Institutions Policymaking Institutions- The branches of government that take action on political issues Legislature (Congress) Executive (President) Courts (Federal and State) Bureaucracies (Federal and State)

10. The Policymaking System Policymaking Institutions Bureaucracies The job of a bureaucrat is to implement government policy, to take the laws and decisions made by elected officials and put them into practice The federal bureaucracy makes rules that affect how programs operate, and these rules must be obeyed, just as if they were laws The rulemaking process for government agencies occurs in stages After Congress passes new regulatory laws, the agency charged with implementing the law proposes a series of rules Interested parties can comment on the rules at public hearings or by submitting documents to the agency and Congress can review and change the rules if it desires. If Congress makes no changes, the rules go into effect

11. The Policymaking System Iron Triangle- A mutually beneficial, three-way relationship between Congress, government bureaucrats, and special interest lobby groups. Each group does some action that will help the other group, creating a lasting and unbreakable bond between the three Illustrates how linkage institutions work together with policymaking institutions to execute their goals

12. The Policymaking System Policies Impact People Public Policy- A choice that government makes in response to a political issue Types of Public Policy Congressional Statute- Law passed by Congress (Ex. No Child Left Behind Act) Presidential Action- Decision by the president (Ex. U.S. troops invade Iraq) Court Decision- Opinion by Supreme Court or other court (Ex. Supreme court ruling that individuals have a constitutional right to own a gun) Budgetary Choices- Legislative enactment of taxes and expenditures (Ex. The federal budget resolution) Regulation- Agency adoption of regulation (Ex. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of a new drug)

13. The Policymaking System Perceptions, Beliefs, Interests, and Values The definition of cost and benefits are ambiguous, which make them hard to truly define in politics “Here and Now” Argument- What happens now or in the near future is more important to most people than what happens in the distant future Cost Argument- What are the costs and benefits of a policy Values- Our conception of what is good for our community or our country Deregulation- The process of removing constraints, especially government imposed economic regulation A challenge to iron triangles and client politics Movement started with academic economists who convinced politicians Presidents since Ford have sought to review government regulation

14. Policymaking System Perceptions, Beliefs, Interests, and Values Opposition of Deregulation Disagreements on how and what the government should begin deregulating “Process Regulation”- (aka “social regulation") Rules aimed at improving consumer/worker safety and reducing environmental damage Can be good or bad Deregulation has its limits Some clients are too powerful (i.e. dairy farmers, agricultural supports) However, there is a trend toward weakening client politics

15. Impacts of Policies Does it solve the problem? Does it create more problems? Depending on the answer, policy impacts carry the political system back to its point of origin: the concerns of people The Policymaking System is a revolving circle that begins with the people and ends with them Where it begins with their interests and problems, the system ends with how it impacts the people Answering the question: “Who gets what and where” - Laswell The Policymaking System

16. Environmental Policy Raises concerns about the benefits they create and how they are going to be paid for Controversies often surround these policies, because of the scientific uncertainty about the nature and extent of the problems As a result, conflicts between government, businesses, and the public arise about how to preserve the environment

17. Environmental Policy & Organizations Started because of Pollution, Global Warming & Energy Policies (i.e. fossil fuels) “Cap and Trade”- Practice that gives businesses allotted amounts of pollution and if they are under the limit they may sell their permits of pollution to other companies so they can use the rest Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)- One of the largest federal regulatory agencies. It deals with land use, air and water quality, and wilderness and wildlife preservation Clean Air Act of 1970- Law that charged the Department of Transportation with the responsibility to reduce automobile emissions Water Quality Improvement Act (1970)- Law that made oil companies responsible for cleanup costs of oil spills Endangered Species Act of 1973- Law protecting critically imperiled species from extinction as a consequence of economic growth and development.

18. Other Important Domestic Policies & Organizations Gun Control- Efforts to regulate or control sales of guns, some people argue it interferes with our second amendment rights (National Rifle Association) while others argue it should be increased to protect citizens safety Federal Spending On Crime Initiatives- Crime initiatives are a large portion of the federal budget, taking money away from many other federal programs such as school, welfare, etc Harsher Punishments-The more serious the crime, the harsher the punishment. Federal punishments are more severe than state crime punishments. Three Strikes Laws- If convicted of three or more serious crimes, sentences are made much harsher, in order to prevent and punish habitual offenders War On Drugs- Attempts to reduce the use of illegal drugs in the United States by prohibiting the use, production, and sale of such illegal substances

19. Other Important Domestic Policies & Organizations Food and Drug Administration- Federal administration the regulates the release of new drugs and foods to the public in order to protect the consumer Brown V Board Court- Case stating the segregation of any form was inherently unequal and thus unconstitutional State Governments Role in Education State- Governments create curriculum, organize public school budget, and maintain public school facilities Elementary and Secondary Education Act- Provides funding for primary and secondary schools to help ensure poor people would receive good educations; forbid a national curriculum Department of Education Cabinet- Created to ensure education standards and improve american education School Vouchers- Government vouchers given to families in order to help them pay for private school tuition No Child Left Behind- Holds states and school districts accountable for their test scores in order to (supposedly) improve schools

20. Social Policy Social Policy- Consists of programs that seek to do at least three things: Protect Against Risk and Insecurity Ex. Job Loss, Health Problems, Disability Promote Equal Opportunity Ex. Civil Rights Acts Attempt to Assist the Poor Ex. Food Stamps Began with the New Deal Great Depression Changed the way Americans viewed the government Modified how they felt about poverty It made many Americans feel that was part of the government’s job to do something about it

21. Social Policy The New Deal and its Lasting Effects The New Deal lasted from 1933-1941 Its Opposition: Huey Long’s “Share Our Wealth Plan”-Proposal to redistribute income in the United States to benefit the poor President Roosevelt’s programs and policies created a new political coalition that included white working people, African Americans and left-wing intellectuals They shared a belief that an interventionist government was good for their families, the economy, and the nation Their coalition has broken up over time, but many of the New Deal programs that bound them together are still with us today Social Security Unemployment Insurance Federal Agricultural Subsidies

22. Social Security Social Security encompasses Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI). Some also categorize the earliest Unemployment Insurance under Social Security. To be eligible for Old Age insurance, you must be at least 62 years old. Unemployment Insurance is paid to workers who have become unemployed due to a reason beyond their control. The program is funded by a payroll income tax, which is collected by the IRS. This is called the Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax (FICA).

23. Medicare Medicare is another system which people pay into and see the benefits after they reach a certain age. It provides health care for those over 65, as well as for those with severe chronic kidney disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS - remember the ice bucket challenge?), and young people with disabilities. As with all health insurance and social programs, it does not cover all medical costs. Recipients often find out-of-pocket costs including premiums, deductibles, and coinsurance.

24. Means-Tested Social Programs “Means-tested” means that they are based on economic need, whether or not the recipients have the “means” to survive. Medicaid is a government insurance program for those who cannot afford insurance. The Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare,” expanded eligibility for both Medicare and Medicaid, and reformed many private insurance practices. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), often known simply as “welfare,” is given to needy families with children by the Department of Health and Human Services.

25. More Means-Tested Social Programs The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) directly reduces the amount that families have to pay to the state in taxes based on income and number of children. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or “Food Stamps,” is a way to provide low-income people with the means to purchase food. It is instituted by the Department of Agriculture. “Food Stamps” used to take the form of actual physical bills, which were printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, but they have since been replaced by a debit-card system called Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT).

26. Economic Policy The official government measurements of economic performance are the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The GDP measures the total purchases of final goods, adding Consumption, Investment, Government Spending/Taxes, and Net Exports. GDP can be an inaccurate measurement of well-being since it includes money spent on natural disasters and does not take into account leisure time. The CPI measures inflation by figuring out how much prices of a “market basket” of goods has changed since a certain year.

27. Economic Policy The Great Depression brought to attention many economic problems. After the stock market crash of 1929, people got scared that their assets were in jeopardy, and they stopped spending. Deflation set in (prices dropped by 33%), unemployment rose, and GDP fell by 15%. Eventually, the Depression was curbed partially by FDR’s New Deal policies, but more importantly by the massive spending program that was World War II. This Economic Crisis led to the creation of different schools of macroeconomic thought, trying to explain what happened and to prevent it happening again.

28. Keynesian Economics Keynes argued that government intervention was necessary to prevent economic crises. His idea was that during a recessionary period, the government should increase spending and/or decrease taxes, and during an inflationary period, the government should increase taxes and/or decrease spending. Today’s consensus is that automatic stabilizers are more effective that discretionary spending. The Federal Government also does “indexing,” where they increase nominal spending to match inflation.

29. Budget Process Each fiscal year, the Office of Management and Budget (the largest executive office, created in 1921 by the Budget and Accounting Act) drafts a Presidential Budget Request to present to Congress. The Congressional Budget Committees (which were created in 1974 by the Congressional Budget Act) then considers the Presidential Budget and drafts the Budget Resolution. The Budget Resolution does not carry the force of law, but the Appropriations Committee of each house drafts legislation to carry out the resolution.

30. Government Borrowing, Deficit, and Debt The risk of discretionary fiscal policy (changing spending or taxes in response to economic circumstance, as opposed to automatic stabilization policies) is that the government will have to borrow money from another country and run a budget deficit. The government runs a budget deficit whenever government spending exceeds tax revenue. If tax revenue exceeds government spending, then they have a budget surplus. If the government cannot pay back the deficit by the end of the fiscal year, then they create a national debt. Our national debt is currently over 19 trillion dollars. Dang.

31. Limits to Government Spending Deficit spending has the added threat of “crowding out.” Basically, it raises the interest rate, which means people become less willing to invest their money. The decrease in investment can cancel out the government’s increase in spending, and render it partially ineffective, totally ineffective, or even counterproductive. Because of this threat, there are limits to deficit spending. The Gramm-Rudman Balanced Budget Act of 1985 created automatic spending cuts (sequestration) that are enacted whenever the Federal Appropriations (spending) exceeds the Federal Budget. Side note: a “peace dividend” becomes available for the government to spend whenever they reduce spending on defense.

32. The Federal Reserve An alternative to Keynesian policy is monetary policy, where the Federal Reserve combats economic crises by adjusting the money supply. By changing the Reserve Ratio, the Discount Rate, or by buying or selling government bonds, they can change the interest rate, which will change the amount of money in the economy. This is effective unless the interest rate nears zero, which happened during the 2008 financial crisis, and which is why we had to borrow money from other countries to fix our economy.

33. Economic planning Keynesian and monetarist policies are both forms of economic planning; that is, using government intervention rather than leaving the economy to market forces. On one end of the spectrum, you have communism, with complete economic planning. On the other, you have laissez-faire economics, with no economic planning. The government might also intervene to promote certain sectors, such as the manufacturing sector. The government might also institute wage controls to help citizens’ well-beings, even when not economically efficient.

34. Other Economic Institutions The Council of Economic Advisors do just that: they advise the President on economic matters. While the Office of Management and Budget specifically prepares the President’s spending proposal, the Council of Economic Advisors advises him in all matters regarding the economy. The Department of the Treasury mints all currency and manages government revenue. The Internal Revenue Service is a bureau of the Treasury which collects federal taxes.

35. Income Tax The 16th Amendment in 1913 gave Congress the authority to create a federal income tax. Since then, there has been considerable debate over how to implement that tax. We currently have a Progressive Income Tax, meaning that higher income brackets are taxed more than lower ones. The marginal tax rate is the percentage of your income that is taken for each income bracket.

36. Other Ideas of Income Tax A Proportional Tax is where each income bracket is taxed at the same rate. Conservatives support this, while Liberals oppose it, claiming that it disproportionately affects lower income brackets. A Regressive Tax is where lower income brackets are taxed at a higher rate than higher ones. Thankfully we do not have one of these in the U.S. Part of Reagan’s economic plans was the Tax Reform Act of 1986. This, while maintaining a progressive tax, reduced the marginal tax rate on the highest income bracket from 50% to 28%, and raised the marginal tax rate on the lowest income bracket from 10% to 15%. This was the result of the idea of “trickle-down economics.”

37. Other Taxes An Excise Tax is imposed on the sale of a good, rather than the purchase of it. However, it is usually assumed that the seller will shift the tax burden onto the consumer by adding it to the price of the good. Corporations are also taxed just like individuals. This is known as the Corporate Tax Rate. The current Corporate Tax rate is 39.1%. Shareholders are taxed on dividends (payments issued by the corporation) rather than the corporate income itself.

38. Tax Expenditures and Loopholes Two people may have the same income, but end up actually paying very different amounts in income tax. This is because of tax expenditures, such as deductions and exemptions. Owning a home, having children, and receiving employer health insurance can all lower your tax rate. Many taxes are also written lazily, leading to loopholes which people and corporations can exploit. These result from ambiguities and technicalities in the law which allow for people to legally pay less in taxes than they should. This contributes to the economic gap, because many people in lower income brackets either don’t have the education or can’t afford tax lawyers to find those loopholes.

39. Tariffs A tariff is a tax on imports or exports. Throughout history, many nations have instituted protective tariffs, which are higher on imports than on exports, to encourage their citizens to buy domestic goods rather than purchase them abroad. A customs duty is an indirect tax on imported or exported goods, and you encounter them whenever you bring merchandise home from foreign countries.

40. Stagflation In the 1970’s, OPEC (Oil Producing and Exporting Countries) instituted an embargo on oil against the U.S. This was a supply shock, meaning it caused both inflation and unemployment. But the way Nixon dealt with it made it a major financial crisis. He instituted price controls, which prevented businesses from raising their prices to match increasing resource costs, meaning all they could do was cut costs by laying off workers, creating massive unemployment. He also took us off the gold standard, creating a huge international demand for the dollar and decreasing its value, meaning inflation happened. The Federal Reserve responded to the unemployment by lowering the interest rate and increasing the money supply. But they lowered it to zero and there was still huge unemployment, and increasing the money supply caused inflation to skyrocket.

41. Reaganomics What eventually stopped stagflation was a controversial move by the Federal Reserve to increase the interest rate and decrease the money supply. This was controversial because it meant massive unemployment, but it did stop inflation. Reagan had witnessed the catastrophe of Nixon’s attempts at government regulation. He favored laissez-faire economics, by cutting taxes, decreasing social spending, and deregulating markets. His tax cuts were informed by supply-side economics, which is based on the idea that higher taxes on the wealthy will deter them from spending, and that cutting their taxes will create economic growth because they will spend that money on consumption or investing in their business by buying capital.

42. Foreign Policy Foreign Policy refers to the laws, precedents and treaties that are followed and/or enforced by the United States Government. In these slides, we’ll focus on the structures of U.S foreign policy and the specific subjects that one might encounter in the A.P Test

43. Who Holds The Power? The president (being Commander in Chief) holds the last decision for the armed forces(Navy, Marines, etc…), appoints ambassadors(approved by the Senate), negotiating international agreements(ratified by Congress), implementing and stating policy, as well as (to a limit) independent action and first response to foreign events. To assist in such actions, the president has at their disposal (and advice) the Secretary of State, the State Department, the Department of Defense, the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency,Office of Strategic Services, Foreign Broadcast Informaion Sevices, National Security Council, U.S Trade Representative, Council on International Economic Policy, Special Adviser to the President on Foreign Trade,Office of Management and Budget.

44. Executive Agreements are international agreements, USUALLY regarding administrative matters not warranting a formal treaty, made by the executive branch without ratification by the Senate(like the TPP). It is sometimes also authorized by congress, like NAFTA. A treaty is an agreement under international law that has to be ratifies with a ⅔ vote in the Senate(TNPNW).

45. War Powers Until after 1973, the president had absolute power over how to go about armed conflict, and when and where to deploy troops, although the presidents did so often with the Congress’ consent. The War Powers Resolution of 1973 requires the President to notify Congress wihin 48 hours of committing armed conflict to military action and forids their stay to 60 days(plus 30 days of withdrawal) without congressional authorization. Generally, it states that the President can only send U.S Armed Forces into action abroad only by declaration of war by congress,”statutory authorization,” or “a national emergency created by attack upon the United States, it’s territories or possessions, or its armed forces.

46. Cold War Stuff The Cold War brought U.S foreign policy to a constant fight against U.S.S.R influence and an arms race that dramatically increased U.S military spending and political and economic influence on the world. The Berlin Blockade, Cuban Missile Crisis, NATO, Pearl Harbor, antiappeasement, etc...

47. More Cold War Stuff The berlin blockade was an attempt in the late 40’sby the Soviet’s to block UnitedStates, Britain or France from traveling to or importing to the U.S.S.R share of Berlin, resulting in the Berlin Wall. Pearl Harbor was a thing on December 7th, 1941. NATO: is an intergovernmental military alliance first formed to contain communism(Truman Doctrine) based on the North Atlantic Treaty(1949). It constitutes a system of collective defense whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party.Mostof its troops are supplied by the U.S. 28 member states. AntiAppeasement: the world view (after WorldWar Two) that one should not try to compromise with dictators.

48. Isolationism is a policy of remaining apart from the political affairs of other countries and implementing protective tariffs that benefit domestic business. Protective Tariffs are tariffs on imports. The Monroe Doctrine (1823) states that attempts to colonize the Americas by European countries will be viewed as acts of aggression against the United States. By today, with addendum from Teddy Roosevelt,the doctrine has generally been interpreted to imply separation from European affairsand European separation from U.S affairs. As one can see,the U.S is not (currently) adopting isolationist policies.

49. Non-Interventionism is the policy not involving oneself in the internal affairs of other countries.

50. Other Important Events Cuban Missile Crisis: Having recently become a communist state(due to a deal with the U.S.S.R regarding oil and sugar trade), Cuba had been militarily helping the U.S.S.R. In October of 1962, the U.S found out the U.S.S.R was stockpiling nuclear weapons in Cuba. As a result, the world was in a 13-day panic at the verge of nuclear war. The U.S imposed a naval blockade on Cuba and made the U.S.S.R retreat its nuclear weapons off of Cuba. Secretly, the U.S also gave its mid-range nuclear weapons it was holding in Turkey. Operation Desert Storm is a direct response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and their refusal to leave by January 15, 1991. Bush Sr.then troops and bombs to Iraq (being supported by a narrow majority in Congress) along with support from the U.N. The event was heavily televised.

52. State Department The Department of State (headed by Secretary of State John Carry) is responsible for the international relations of the Government. It operates diplomatic missions from the United States abroad and is responsible for implementing foreign policy of the United States. It is the depository (entrusted to) for more than 200 multilateral treaties. Evolving from the Department of Foreign Affairs, its contemporary version began in 1947 with the National Security Act. Mission Statement: Advance freedom for the benefit of the American people and the international community by helping to build and sustain a more democratic, secure, and prosperous world composed of well-governed states that respond to the needs of their people, reduce widespread poverty, and act responsibly within the international system.

53. The DOS promotes and protects the interests of American citizens by (1) 'Promoting peace and stability in regions of vital interest' and 'Creating jobs at home by opening markets abroad' and 'Helping developing nations establish investment and export opportunities’ and 'Bringing nations together and forging partnerships to address global problems, such as terrorism, the spread of communicable diseases, cross-border pollution, humanitarian crises, nuclear smuggling, and narcotics trafficking'

54. Joint Chiefs of Staff JCS is a body of senior uniformed leaders in the U.S Department of Defense who advise the Secretary of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the National Security Council and the President on military matters. Defined by statute, the JCS consists of the Chairman, Vice- Chairman, the Military Service Chiefs from the Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force, and the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, all appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

56. Central Intelligence Agency The CIA is a civilian service of foreign intelligence for the U.S Government, tasked with gathering, processing and analyzing national security information from around the world. Created at first to address and contain the U.S.S.R, its general mission is to inform policy. As one of the principal members of the U.S Intelligence Community, the C.I.A reports to the Director of National Intelligence and is primarily focused on providing intelligence for the President and his Cabinet.

58. The Imperial Presidency A term used to describe the presidents of the U.S since the 1960’s, mainly to express the point of view that. The U.S Presidency is out of control and too powerful. The president’s authority has exceeded constitutional limits.

59. Rally ‘Round the Flag Is an effect (or syndrome) used in political science to explain an increased popular suppot for the president during periods of international crisis or war. Because this effect reduces criticism of government policies, it is a factor in diversionary foreign policy. Diversionary Foreign Policy is starting wars abroad to distract the population from domestic problems.

60. Kinds of Foreign Policy Majoritarian: perceived to confer widespread benefits domestically, widespread costs abroad(war, alliances) Interest Group: foreign factions are pitted against one another to benefit oneself. Client: benefits go to an identifiable costs, without any explicit costs against other groups.