Federal Bureaucracy Essay #18

A) A description of a characteristic of the merit system is that hiring or promotion is based on merit, experience, and qualifications.

B) The structure of the bureaucracy contributes to bureaucratic independence because it is based on merit. Complexity of public policy problems contributes to bureaucratic independence because it delegates authority. Because Congress and the president cannot handle everything, they delegate authority to the bureaucracy.

C) -Congress can pass legislation affecting the bureaucracy. 
     -The Courts can implement rulings that limit bureaucratic practices. 
     -Interest Groups can utilize the 1st amendment while partaking in Lobbying, protests, and media use.

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

Party Trends Essay #17

A) One specific trend evident in the figure is the percentage of House seats for Democrats has trended down.

B)  From 1948 to 2000, Southern voters elected Democratic candidates to Congress more frequently than they elected Democratic candidates to the presidency. Incumbency advantage, even though Southern voters were voting for Republican presidential candidates, they continued to vote for incumbent Democratic congressional candidates because of the incumbency advantage. State versus national parties- because national and state parties were largely independent of each other, to get votes Democratic congressional candidates responded to local interests, whereas Democratic presidential candidates responded to a national constituency.

C)  Over the past few decades, party composition has changed in groups. Catholics have become less reliable Democratic voters. Women have: become more reliable Democratic voters, have increased in number and thus there are more Democratic supporters, and have become a larger percentage of the Democratic voting block. Labor union members have: become less reliable Democratic voters, have decreased in number and thus there are fewer Democratic supporters, and have become a smaller percentage of the Democratic voting block.

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

Federal Agencies Essay #16

1.  Two reasons why Congress gives federal agencies policy making discretion in executing federal laws are: because it's easier to come to an agreement, and it's more efficient that way.

2. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is under the policy of clean air and water. The EPA is in charge of protecting the environment by creating national parks and regulating pollution levels. The EPA passed pollution level laws and ordered all cities to change their requirements that didn't pass the test.

3. Two ways in which Congress ensures that federal agencies follow legislative intent are: investigations, and Legislative Veto. 

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.

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

Social Security Essay #15

A) Entitlement programs are government-sponsored programs providing mandated/guaranteed/required benefits to those who meet eligibility requirements and qualifications.

B) Payroll taxes are the primary source of revenue for the Social Security program.

C) One threat to the future of the Social security program should the trends depicted in the chart is running out of money to provide to the people who receive Social Security.

D) One demographic trend that threatens the future of the Social Security program is that people are living longer and have a greater life expectancy. Because the number of workers who fund Social Security is decreasing, the number of people eligible for Social Security is increasing. Therefore, the threat of running out of money is very likely.

E) If people were to work longer, less money would be paid out/more money would be paid in/the reserve would not decline as rapidly or as much.

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 one 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.

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

Domestic Policy Essay #14

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

a) The president is granted many powers due to the constitution. One would be the legislative powers that he has. With these, he can veto bills, perform pocket vetoes and even sign legislation. Another power he is granted is his appointment power, where he can call anyone into office.

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

Lame Duck Period: The lame duck period is a period of time in which an officeholder’s term is coming to an end. It limits the president's ability to influence domestic policy making in congress because congress becomes less responsive to the president and the president's power is viewed as begin diminished.
Mandatory Spending: Mandatory spending is spending not controlled by annual budget decisions. This takes aways form the president's ability to influence domestic policy because budgetary constraints make it difficult to accomplish policy goals, as well as the fact that it is difficult to make budget cuts that might accomplish policy goals.

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 policymaking 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

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

Congressional Reapportionment Essay #13

a) Congressional reapportionment is the process by which the House of Representatives in the USA are redistributed among the states following each mandated decennial census. It is important because it determines the increase or decrease in the number of seats a state has in the House or Congress.

b) Congressional redistricting is the process of redrawing district boundaries when a state has more representatives than districts.

c) During redistricting, politicians have two main goals during gerrymandering. One would be to enhance political party strength/to minimize the strength of the opposition party and another is to increase minority representation/to decrease minority representation.

d) The US Supreme court has created multiple limitations on congressional redistricting. One would be the fact that districts must be equally populated and another would be the limitation that district lines cannot be drawn solely based upon race.

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.

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap08_gopo_us_sgs.pdf 

bp Oil Spill Assignment

Source #1:

The Spill. 26 Oct. 2010. Frontline. Web. 26 Feb. 2014. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/the-spill/etc/introduction.html>.

The large oil company bp has managed to create a bad reputation for the face of foreign oil by neglecting to attend to safety concerns. Cost-cutting measures have continued to lower the safety threshold and both injure and kill over 20 people so far. Frontline investigates and describes how this company has slowly decreased in safety and trust. It also shows just how dangerous the oil spills can be, leading to fire, explosions, and the death and injury of many bp employees. Lack of leadership in the company is the main cause of confusion with safety measures and cost-cutting which is making the company untrustworthy and not true to their word that they will bump up the safety measures to keep employees safe. 

Source #2:

Pelley, Scott. "Blowout: The Deepwater Horizon Disaster." CBS News. CBS Interactive Inc., 16 May 2010. Web. 26 Feb. 2014. <http://www.cbsnews.com/news/blowout-the-deepwater-horizon-disaster-16-05-2010/>.

The deepwater horizon disaster refers to the tragic explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico by bp, the largest oil company to date. It claimed 11 lives and is particularly terrible because there could have been many things done to prevent this disaster. To cut costs, bp avoided doing things for safety measures, not sealing the cement blocks being the largest of the cost-cutting activities, and that lead to the oil spill heard around the world. There could have been so many things that could have prevented this but bp has a major lack of leadership, starting with the CEO, that have ruined bp forever. 

Source #3:

McClatchy, David. "BP's Troubled Past." Frontline. PBS, 26 Oct. 2010. Web. 26 Feb. 2014. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/the-spill/bp-troubled-past/>.

For years, bp has been avoiding necessary safety measures to cut costs which has let to the injury and death of multiple employees. Now, there are documents being released that identify that bp truly could have done so much to save the lives of their employees but instead, they thought of the money aspect of it because they are greedy. Not only were people killed in the Texas City explosion, but there was a huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that killed 11 people. The sad part of the whole story is that bp just needs new leadership to guide them in the right direction to make their company safe again and to prevent any more disasters from occurring anytime soon.

Divided Government Essay #12

a) A divided party government occurs when one party is in the presidency and the other controls one or both chambers of Congress. Because in a divided government one party can check the other's agenda, it is exceedingly difficult for a party to carry out its policies. Divided party governments in modern times have affected voter behaviors. The inability of a party to bring its promises to life has contributed to voter disillusionment in the democratic system, decreasing trust and confidence in the government.

b) Well when you have to buy your way into office like some politicians do, people lose faith in the government and the people who voted for them. People can not think for themselves they have to have the media decide for them. People are less inclined to vote for someone if they have no thoughts or ideas on aspects of government and are just successful because of their money.

c) One specific consequence of the decline in trust and confidence in government for individual political behavior is lower voter turnout. When voters can't trust the possible candidates, they are less inclined to vote at all. Another consequence is party disloyalty which for example could be registering or voting as an independent instead of a Republican or Democrat. 

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/public/repository/ap04_frq_gopo_us_36217.pdf

Re-election Rates Essay #11

a) There are two patterns displayed in the graph shown. One is that the House of Representatives and the Senate lines on the graph are inverses of each other. For example, in 1981, while the re-election rates in the House of Representatives were up and around the 90 percentage, the re-election rates in the Senate plunged to half of that rate, around the 55 percentage. Another pattern is that the House of Representatives' re-election rate is always and constantly higher than that of the Senate's. 

b) One factor that contributes to incumbency advantage is wealth, it takes a whole lot of money to run a candidacy. The fact that elections take a lot of money to run makes it very common to have wealthy business owner or someone who comes from money run for re-election. The other factor that contributes to incumbency advantage is that the citizens already know the incumbents name, face, and what they stand for. Since they already have political background and experience, it makes it easier for a voter to choose them, rather than some yahoo that is running for the first time.

c) One consequence of incumbency advantage is that since they continue to be re-elected, there is a higher chance of corruption in Congress. Nowadays we hear every day about a new senator or representative scandal. If the incumbents were never re-elected, there would be no chance for the congress men and women to get antsy and start doing or participating in illegal things rather than focusing on doing their job and serving their country. 

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.
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

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/repository/govpol_us_01.pdf

Meth Assignment

Source #1: 

The Meth Epidemic. Dir. PBS. 14 Feb. 2006.http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/meth/. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.

In the recent years, meth has overwhelmingly become one of the most distributed and used drugs in the United States. Its content has slowly and slowly become so pure that it is now also one of the most dangerous drugs on the market. Shows like AMC's Breaking Bad glamorize the making and use of methamphetamine though the truth is that it can deteriorate your body and kill you. Meth is making it way up a list of drugs that can seriously harm you and its not coming down anytime soon.

Source #2:

Engle, Jonah. "Big Pharma And Meth Cooks Agree: Keep Cold Meds Over The Counter." npr. npr, 26 Sept. 2013. Web. 18 Feb. 2014. <http://www.npr.org/2013/09/26/226476602/big-pharma-and-meth-cooks-agree-keep-cold-meds-over-the-counter>.

The meth epidemic is becoming more and more dangerous as the days and weeks pass by because in every state except Oregon, the decongestant pseudophedrine (a main ingredient of methamphetamine) is still not a prescription drug. This allows cookers to obtain the ingredients they need to create the meth through the "shake and bake" method, which means they put all the ingredients together and shake them to crystallize it. This is obviously dangerou on so many levelsbut that mny chemicals in that small of a space leads to fires and explosions, and eventually harming the cooks themselves. Since Oregon made pseudophedrine a prescription drug that you can only get over-the-counter, the number of meth labs in the state as decreased by 90%. If we could get all states to pass this law, maybe we can start to get a handle on thismeth epidemic.

Source #3:

Rawson, Richard. "How Meth Destroys The Body." Frontline. PBS, 14 Feb. 2011. Web. 18 Feb. 2014. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/meth/body/>.

Using meth has become overwhelmingly popular in the past decade, but what people don't knnow, is the harm it can do to your body. When ingested, methamphetamine releases a massive amount of dopamine to the brain. So much so, that researchers have suggested that one hit of meth releases more dopamine than having an orgasm. However, after the first use, your body builds up a tolerance to the drug which requires you to use more and more of it to feelthe same high again. And that is the biggest risk of the drug: you will get to a point where you need large amounts of the drug to feel high and that will eventually kill you. Not to mention the way it deteriorates the body through your skin, teeth, and most importantly, the brain.