Now it's time to say goodbye!

Well, I hope that you have gotten something useful out of this blog!  I had fun writing about my interpretations of the American governement and learned a lot through this class.  My eyes have been opened to differnet ways of thinking and have been able to explore the inter-workings of politics.  I set out with the goal of trying to hold an intelligent conversation with friends about what is going on with our governement without overstepping boundries that are so personal to many.  I feel as if I accomplished my personal goal and feel confident in the discussions that I have.  My classmates have been amazing in their support of my beliefs and pushing my beliefs to make me more open and understanding to other views, so thanks guys!  So, I hope that everyone starts to participate a little bit more in their involvement with our governement that is designed to reflect the views of all of its citizens.  Cheers, to the end of the semester, and good luck to all!

"Be curteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence."
George Washington~1st President (1789-1799)

Thanks Vetrans!

Our military gives us our daily freedom.  We often take these freedoms for granted.  We go about our daily lives not even thinking about how much others are thinking about our freedom.  How much others devote their lives to protecting ours.  Our military defends the foreign policies that our government puts in place to defend our nation and help make prosperious relationships with other countries.

Thank you to the men and women who risk their lives and sacrifice their time so we can live our lives with peace of mind.  Thank you to their families who love them and support them and sacrifice their time and memories so selflessly.  I find it amazing that others care so much about my feedom that they fight to defend it.

November 11th is Vetrans Day.  Make sure that you thank our military service men and women for their sacrifices and the work that they do.

"America is not anything if it consists of each of us.  It is something only if it consists of all of us."
     Woodrow Wilson~28Th  President (1913-1921)

"One for all and all for one!"

Our country has a need to take care of its people.  We as a nation strive to do well.  To do well as a nation, there must be policies in place to help those who need it.  There are many programs available to people who need it.  Many of these programs are paid for by our taxes and through social security (we are paying it forward so to say).  There are many poisitives to the different social programs available.  There are a lot of regulations to quilify for these programs to ensure that people who need them get them and that they are not up for grabs by anyone.  As with everythin there are loopholes and some programs leave room for improvment.  I feel that there are many people right on the cusp that could really benefit for government assistance to get them one step closer to not living paycheck to paycheck, but because of the strict qualifications, they are left with no assistance and to fend for themselves.  Yet there are people who are very comfortable living on government programs and have found ways to make it a lifestyle.  With every thing in life there are people who try to do better and use what is available as a stepping stone and those who are more than ok to do nothing about their situation and have everyone else take care of them.  We as a nation look to help everyone and especially those who want it.  I dont know about you, but I can't turn my back on someone needing help especially if it is because they need it to better themselves.  We all need a little help sometime!

"I am concerned about the whole man.  I am converned about what the people using their government as as instrument and a tool, can do toward building the whole man, which will mean a better sociaty and a better world."
     Lyndon B. Johnson~36th President (1963-1969)

Digging Deep in Economic Policy

Making an economic policy that provides service and is sustainable is a complicated process.  Economic Policy is comprised of two "teams".  The first "team" is fiscal policy and is headed up by Congress and the President and the second "team" is monetary policy that is controled by the Federal Reserve Board, the Fed.  I am going to try to break it down some to make economic policy a little less complicated.

Fiscal Policy stimulates the economy by running a budget deficit and takes money out by budget surplus, which discourages investments and consumption.  Governments "income" comes from taxes.  Government spending, is the government spending our taxes, providing police, Social Security, and State Welfare.  Taxes are confusing and often seen as unfair.  Everyone seems to have their own opinion on what would be the best way to tax.  Fiscal policy is decided by Congress and the President in efforts to try to stabilize the economy and help it grow.  Fiscal policy is how government decides it is going to spend our taxes to have the most effective influence on our  economy.

Monetary policy influences the economy by adjusting interest rates.  By the Fed setting the interest rates higher, it tends to slow down spending because everything is now more expensive.  When interest rates are low, spending increases, it is easier and more affordable to invest and to borrow money from banks.  The ability to influence interest rates helps the government react to inflation and recessions and impliment actions to correct the economy.  Monetary policy also controls the amount of money in circulation.  Bonds can be bought and sold to increase or decrease the money supply as well as printing more money. 

"Policymakers use fiscal and monetary policies to create a predictable environment of stable prices and high employment levels, so that economic actors can plan with some certainty about the future" (p. 309).  As with everything in government, economic policy is complicated and complex.  It is never perfect, but it has been built with room to change when changes are needed.  It has to be pretty intimidating to be in charge of a whole countries economy.  Not sure that I would want to do that job!  Would you?  Because economic policy is complicated and complex, it is the backbone to keeping our economy stable and providing service to the nation.  Do you believe that the economic process that our counrty uses works?  Do you have ideas that would make it better or smoother?  Do you know of another countries economic process that works better?  Would love some feed back on this one, I really would enjoy knowing more about this topic!

"Government always finds a need for whatever money it gets."
     Ronald Reagan~40th President (1981-1989)

This isn't your typically Judge Judy!

WOW!  There is a lot more to the judicial system than I thought!  I know that I am not going to be able to cover it all, but I will hopefully be able to give you the basics.  The judicial system has a dual court system which is divided into state and federal systems of justice.  First we will talk about the State Courts.  This is what most of us are fimiliar with.  The State Courts are the working horse of the American judicial system.  This is where traffic violations, small claims, custody, divorce and so on are heard.  State courts hear about 98% of all cases in the American judicial system.  That is over 103 million cases for the 15,500 state and local courts to hear each year.  So next time you get a traffic ticket, be on time, they're busy!!

Next we are going to talk about the Federal Courts.  Here the courts are broken down into 3 tiers.  First, District Courts.  There are 94 district courts.  Full trials happen here with witnesses, jury, and evidence that is not called exhibits is entered into record.  District Courts are the base of the Federal Court System.  They hear about 370,000 cases a year.

Next, we have our Courts of Appeal.  These guys are busy.  The Courts of Appeals is broken up into 10 circuits.  Cicruits are like judicial districts, each circuit includes a couple of states and their ruling affect only those states within their circuit.  Thr Courts of Appeals hear about 28,000 cases a year.  The Appeals courts usually has the final say because so few cases are actually taken to the next level which is Supreme Court.

Lastly, we have the Supreme Court.  This is the highest level of our judicial system.  The Supreme Court only hears about 100 cases a year.  The cases that are presented to the Supreme Court are reviewed by what is called the rule of four.  The rule of four means that at least 4 of the justices must want to hear the case.  Chief Justice William Howard Taft, in reference on how cases were chosen was quoted saying "That involve principles, the application of which are of wide public inportance or governmental interest, and which should be authoritatively declared by the Court" (p. 259).  When the Supreme Court makes a ruling, it does not just affect the individual, or the circuit or the state, it is now federal and affects the whole country. 

I am unable to cover everything about the judicial system but hopefully you get a better idea of how it is broken down and how it operates.  "Judges are like umpires.  Umpires don't make the rules, they apply them" (p. 249)  I think that our judges and our judicial system play the most important role in American freedom.  They interprut the laws and rule on judgements that affect all of us.  But I also think that the citizens play  a pretty big role too, know the rules and laws and follow them.  Hopefully you won't have to consider being late to court!

"Freedom is the open window through which pours the sunlight of the human spirit and human dignity."
     Herbert Hoover~31st President (1929-1933) 

Hello, Congress, let me in!!!

Our question this week was  how does the U.S. Congress, as it exists in its current structure, support and/or limit authentic representation? Ahhh.  I don't think that Congress authentically represents in its current structure.  There is no way it could.  Congress is supposed to be the most accessible branch of the federal government, yet it is often the least trusted by the people.  There are two branches of Congress; The House of Representatives which is elected by popular vote and the Senate which is made up of 2 members representing each state and are elected by various state legislatures.  Congress is supposed to represent the people and is critisezed for not doing so.  I am not sure that I want the average American making decisions that they know as much about what is going on in the world as I do.  I would rather have someone that went to a top school and devotes their time to learning about the history of our country, the issues going on in the world, and has experience in Washington.  I think that Congress should be filled with experts that listen closely to the American public to properly represent them, and I don't believe that is the case.  Once again, it comes down to the dollar.  Congressman are representing the wealthy, lobbyists, and special interest groups.  Afterall, these are the people that keep them in office and living a very comfortable life where they don't even have to pay for their gas, our tax dollars do.  By the way, they make a lot more than I do, but I pay for my own gas!  Another way that Congress limits its representation, is by its turnover.  Congress was designed for quick turnover, but because of all the extra benefits in addition to the great pay, many are making Congress their career.  With little turnover, it is very hard for new ideas to be heard and changes to be made.  It seems like the more that I learn about government, the more it is proving to be corrupt and just ideal, not attainable.  Am I wrong here?  Am I missing the part that Americas government really does work the way it was set out to?

"A government is for the benefit of all the people."
     William Howard Taft~27th President (1909-1913)

Lets All Get Along

How is it that the seat of our President can be so contradictory?  The President is able to both support and limit the formation of an ideal democracy?  The President is elected by an Electoral College and not by popular vote, which does not support an ideal democracy.  In 2000, "Al Gore received 550,000 more popular votes than George W. Bush but lost 271-267 in the Electoral College" (p. 177).  On the other hand the collabration between the three branches of government, Executive, Legislative, and Judicial, through Checks and Balances.  Checks and Balances support the ideal of democracy because they help ensure that one branch does have complete control over all of governement and makes all of the branches work together to serve the citizens of the United States of America.

The relationship between the President and Congress can shape the democratic process in a few ways.  Congress is responsible for writing the bills and the President then either passes or vetos the bills according to his beliefs and those of the citizens.  Also, when one party (Democratic or Republican) rules the majority of Congress and the Presidency they can work together to accomplish more as opposed to wasting time fighting against each other.  When the two branches are able to work together they are more likely able to better represent the people

"One man with courage makes a majority."
     Andrew Jackson~7th President (1829-1937)