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American Government and Civic Engagement 1 What is government? What is politics? Successes and Obstacles in the American System Successes Obstacles Stable Institutions Government unresponsiv...

American Government and Civic Engagement 1 What is government? What is politics? Successes and Obstacles in the American System Successes Obstacles Stable Institutions Government unresponsiveness Peaceful transitions of power Racial tensions Ability to protest policies Disparities and Inequalities Gateway to immigrants Low public trust Civic duty Low voting turnout Pursuit of equality Cultural/religious distrust Civil rights Gates blocking certain groups Political polarization National debt  Minimum Wage in the U.S. Table 1.1 Minimum Wage vs. Living Wage by State Wage Living Wage (1 Minimum Gap adult) Wage Wage Living Wage (1 Minimum Wage Living Wage (1 Minimum Gap adult) Wage Gap adult) Wage Alabama $6.52 $13.77 $7.25 Maine $2.92 $14.92 $12.00 Oregon $4.85 $16.85 $12.00 Alaska $4.87 $15.06 $10.19 Maryland $6.25 $17.25 $11.00 Pennsylvania $6.14 $13.39 $7.25 Arkansas $3.29 $13.29 $10.00 Massachusetts $4.99 $17.74 $12.75 Rhode Island $4.29 $14.79 $10.50 Arizona $2.94 $14.94 $12.00 Michigan $3.98 $13.63 $9.65 South Carolina $7.33 $14.58 $7.25 California $5.66 $18.66 $13.00 Minnesota $4.90 $14.90 $10.00 South Dakota $3.31 $12.61 $9.30 Colorado $4.35 $16.35 $12.00 Missouri $4.27 $13.72 $9.45 Tennessee $6.00 $13.25 $7.25 Connecticut $3.98 $15.98 $12.00 Mississippi $6.18 $13.43 $7.25 Texas $6.76 $14.01 $7.25 DC $5.12 $20.12 $15.00 Montana $5.29 $13.94 $8.65 Utah $7.27 $14.52 $7.25 Delaware $6.07 $15.32 $9.25 Nebraska $4.57 $13.57 $9.00 Vermont $3.97 $14.93 $10.96 Florida $6.26 $14.82 $8.56 Nevada $4.67 $13.67 $9.00 Virginia $9.36 $16.61 $7.25 $10.2 Georgia 1 $15.36 $5.15 New Hampshire $7.22 $14.47 $7.25 Washington $2.84 $16.34 $13.50 Hawaii $9.33 $19.43 $10.10 New Jersey $5.20 $16.20 $11.00 West Virginia $4.63 $13.38 $8.75 Idaho $6.70 $13.95 $7.25 New Mexico $4.97 $13.97 $9.00 Wisconsin $6.77 $14.02 $7.25 Illinois $5.37 $15.37 $10.00 New York $6.82 $18.62 $11.80 Wyoming $8.04 $13.19 $5.15 Indiana $6.19 $13.44 $7.25 North Carolina $7.47 $14.72 $7.25 Iowa $6.37 $13.62 $7.25 North Dakota $5.83 $13.08 $7.25 Kansas $6.26 $13.51 $7.25 Ohio $4.46 $13.16 $8.70 Kentucky $6.23 $13.48 $7.25 Oklahoma $6.28 $13.53 $7.25 Louisiana $6.81 $14.06 $7.25  Public Policy Stages 1. Identifying the problem 2. Placing the problem on the agenda of policy makers 3. Formulating a solution 4. Enacting and implementing the solution 5. Evaluating the effectiveness of the solution  Democracy and the American Constitutional System Liberty and Order Democracy – rule by the people – self-government Majority rule No liberty, no safety, no order John Adams was suspicious of democracy Adams believed democracy would harm rule of law and minority rights  Democracy and the American Constitutional System Founders and Framers Framers recognized the need to limit government Founders followed the ideas of Hobbes and Locke − Social contract − Unalienable (natural) rights Direct Democracy is impractical in a large, diverse country Created representative democracy − Republic − Factions – those with/without property − Civic interest Three Branches of Government  Democracy and the American Constitutional System Horizontal and Vertical Divisions of Power Separation of powers divides authority between the branches of government. Checks and balances allows one branch to check another, so no one branch becomes too powerful. Federalism establishes the federal and state governments, where the states have authority to make their own laws and policies, as allowed by the constitution.  American Political Culture Political Parties Party identification: a psychological attachment to a particular party, also known as partisanship Political Ideology − Liberals on the left − Conservatives on the right − Moderates in the middle Different ideologies have different perspectives on the role government should play when it comes to economic and social issues − Libertarians − Populists American Political Ideology  American Political Culture What are some characteristics of American political culture? − Americans are generally more individualistic − The United States avoids economic intervention and spends less on social programs than in other democracies − The United States tends to favor capitalism over socialism − Standing tradition of egalitarianism beliefs  Responsiveness and Equality: Does American Democracy Work? In a democracy, we would expect the government to: Promote the general welfare Provide public goods Allow for equality of opportunity Allow for political equality Provide gateways for racial/ethnic minorities and sexual and gender minorities  Increasing Minority Population in the United States Source: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2018/03/14/the-us-will-become-minority-white-in-2045- census-projects/  Responsiveness and Equality: Does American Democracy Work? What are some alternative models of government? Monarchy Autocracy (dictatorship) Oligarchy None of these alternatives are democratic in nature, and rulers seldom have incentives to be responsive to the people  The Demands of Democratic Government Motivations to participate in the political game Self-interest Civic interest Educational opportunity Economic opportunity Participation opportunity  The Demands of Democratic Government College students have a self-interest to participate in politics to reform increasing college costs Source: College Boards Trends in Higher Education, Table CP-1, accessed June 7, 2022, https://research.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/trends-college-pricing-student-aid-2021.pdf  The Demands of Democratic Government Millennials (born 1981–1996) and Gen Z (born 1997 and after) have engaged new waves of civic engagement Examples of engagement include the following: Black Lives Matter protests #MeToo movement Demands for action on climate change “An educated mind is the guardian genius of democracy.” - Mirabeau B. Lamar