1. Clicker Question Do the things that our government does affect your daily life? a. A little b. A lot c. Not at all

2. Clicker Question Are you happy about the direction of the country these days? a. Very Happy b. Somewhat Happy c. Somewhat Unhappy c. Not at all

3. American Political Culture The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men. -Plato Government and politics are important in your life! Example: Who knows someone in Iraq? Whose education is paid for by the government? Who pays taxes? Who thinks marijuana should be legalized? Who is under the drinking age? What is this?

4. Clicker Question Statement: “Most federal spending goes to Social Security, Medicare, and Defense spending a. That is Correct b. That is Incorrect c. Unsure

5. Clicker Question Statement: “Most federal spending goes to Social Security, Medicare, and Defense spending a. That is Correct (35%) b. That is Incorrect (44%) c. Unsure (20%) BUT IT IS TRUE!!!

6. Clicker Question Of every tax dollar that goes to the federal government in Washington, D.C., how many cents of each dollar would you say are wasted? Enter Amount Examples - 25 would equal $0.25 100 would equal $1.00

7. Clicker Question According to Citizens Against Government Waste (www.cagw.org), they estimate that around $20B or % is pork barrel legislation.

8. American Political Culture Where Does Federal Money Come From? 12.7% 45.3% 35.5% Dollars In Billions

9. American Political Culture How is Government Money Spent? Education Spending = $47B or 1.9% Defense = $515B+$145B ($660B)or 27% “Old People” Spending = ~$1.15T or 34% INTEREST on DEBT = $164B or 8.5%

10. Clicker Question "In order to reduce the federal budget deficit, do you think it will be necessary or not necessary to increase taxes on people like you?" A. Necessary B. Not Necessary C. Unsure

11. Clicker Question

12. Clicker Question "If you HAD to choose ONE, which would you prefer in order to reduce the federal budget deficit: raising taxes on people like you or reducing spending on government programs that benefit people like you?“ A. Raising Taxes B. Reducing Spending C. Unsure

13. Clicker Question Support for cutting federal government spending

14. Clicker Question Is Government Necessary? a. Yes b. No c. Maybe

15. American Political Culture Is Government Necessary?....................YES Your Book: A government is needed to provide those services, sometimes called “public goods,” that all citizens need but are not likely to be able to provide adequately for themselves. Includes: Defense against foreign aggression, maintenance of public order, enforcement of contractual obligations and property rights, and a guarantee of some measure of social justice 1. To Maintain Order 2. To Protect Property 3. To Provide Public Goods 4. To Regulate Common Resources

16. American Political Culture 1. To Maintain Order Thomas Hobbes said life absent a ruling government is one of “continual fear, and danger of violent death [where life is] solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short” – The Leviathan In order for people to live together peacefully, law and order are required, the institutionalization of which is called government.

17. American Political Culture 2. To Protect Property The notion of private property is virtually meaningless without a government of laws and policies that makes trespass prohibitive.

18. American Political Culture 3. To Provide Public Goods Private vs. Public Goods Public Good – A good that is Non-rivalrous and Non-excludable. Non-Rivalrous – Once produced, everyone can benefit from it with out diminishing other’s enjoyment. Non-Excludable – Once created, it is almost impossible to prevent access to the good. In short, a public good is a “good” that can be enjoyed (and not diminished) by anyone, whether they pay for it or not. EXAMPLES – National Defense, Infrastructure, Environmental Protection, Public Safety…

19. American Political Culture The Problem with Public Goods Free-Riding Problem – When some persons enjoy the benefits of some good or action while letting others bear the costs of attaining that good. EXAMPLES: PBS/NPR Taking Out the Trash Free-riding, although unpleasant, is not problematic unless so many people choose to free-ride that the public good can no longer be provided or maintained. Parks, Roads, National Defense

21. produce an army

22. Provide education

23. Provide other public services…there is no incentive, and often a disincentive, for individuals to provide for any of these collective (public) goods.

24. American Political Culture 4. To Regulate Common Resources The Tragedy of the Commons: Picture a public pasture that is open to all local herdsmen. Each herdsman owns his own cattle, but nobody owns or controls the “commons.” Each herdsman is free to use the commons at will, and each herdsman is free to choose the number of animals that he will graze on it. What problem occurs? Modern Examples: Air Use - Pollution Oceans – Overfishing Water Sources (GA/Fl/AL) A government and its ability to regulate such common resources is one way to overcome this potentially negative outcome of over-exploitation. However, sometimes governments are too slow…

25. American Political Culture What Types of Government are There? 1. Governments can be classified based on how authority/power is distributed. Autocracy – Authority rests in a single individual – King, Queen, or Dictator Oligarchy – Authority rests in a small group of people – landowners, military officers, wealthy merchants Democracy – Authority rests with all citizens

26. American Political Culture What Types of Government are There? 2. Governments can be classified based on what types of limitations are placed on authority/power Constitutional – Formal and effective (written down) limits are placed on the powers of the government. Authoritarian – A government that recognizes no formal limits BUT may be constrained by other social institutions. Example = Cuba, Under Castro Totalitarian - A government that recognizes no formal limits AND seeks to absorb/eliminate other social institutions that might challenge it. Example – Stalinist Russia, Nazi Germany

27. American Political Culture What EXACTLY is Democracy? ARISTOTLE – “the most pure democracy is that which is so called principally from the equality which prevails in it…” DE TOCQUEVILLE – “the very essence of democratic government consists in the absolutesovereignty of the majority.” SCHUMPETER – “That institutional arrangement for arriving at political decisions in which individuals acquire the power to decide by means of a competitive struggle for the people’s votes.” “Power of the People”

28. American Political Culture Direct Vs. Representative Democracy Direct Democracy– Political outcomes are decided by all citizens meeting in small assemblies Representative Democracy– Indirect democracy, in which the people rule through elected representatives Which type do we have?

29. Social FREEDOM ORDER FREEDOM Conservative Libertarian Economic Liberal Statist/Populist EQUALITY Culture and Ideology An Alternative Understanding Freedom v. Equality: freedom to succeed v. the government’s guarantee that all citizens will have the same “outcome” Freedom v. Order: Individual freedoms v. order in society

30. American Political Culture What is CULTURE? Culture consists of all learned beliefsand behaviors, the rules by which we order our lives, and the meanings that human beings construct to interpret their universes and their places within them. What is AMERICAN culture?

31. American Political Culture What is Political Culture? Defined as the broadly shared values, beliefs, and attitudes about how the government should function. Centers on values like: Individualism Private Property and Free Enterprise Judeo-Christian Ethics Distrust in Government Democracy, Freedom, Liberty