Chapter 1

What was the U.S. GDP in 2010?

$14.9 trillion

How much of the population do immigrants make up?

1/8

What percentage of Americans live in poverty?

14.3%

How much of GDP is each component?

19% government, 16% investment, 70% consumption, and -5% net exports.

How many people were in the United States in 2010?

310 million people

How many people over the age of 65 were there in 2010?

40+ million

Medicaid

A federal health insurance program for families and individuals with low income and limited resources.

Medicare

A federally funded health insurance program for the elderly.

Baby Boom Generation

A generation of people who were born between 1946 and 1964 that represent nearly 20% of the American public.

What is the baby boom generation, and why is this generation so significant to policy-making in America?

A generation of people who were born between 1946 and 1964 that represent nearly 20% of the American public. Population growth affected the balance in the United States House of Representatives.

Dictatorship

A government in which a single leader or party exercises absolute control over all citizens and every aspect of their lives. In many cases, this absolute power is exercised in a cruel way. Other names for a dictatorship include: Autocracy, Military Junta, Right Wing, Authoritarianism, Totalitarianism or Fascism

What are the key criteria of a democratic society today?

A large middle class, free elections, most of the will to the people.

Socialism

A political and economic system in which some businesses are controlled by the government rather than by individuals. In a socialist country, there is an effort to limit the inequalities of wealth and power. Taxes often high. People can hold private property in socialist countries. A country can be both socialist and democratic.

Communism

A political and economic system in which the government controls all business. Classless society-all people equal. Communist countries have totalitarian governments. All communists are socialists, but not all socialists are communists.

Frostbelt

A region of the United States known for its' cold, frost-producing winters and its' heavy snowfall.

Sunbelt

A strip of territory receiving a high amount of sun.

Government

A system of social control under which the right to make laws, and the right to enforce them, is given to a particular group in society. Providing for the security and order of their country. Establishing a system of justice so that people are treated fairly. Providing welfare services to those in need. Regulating the economy (we'll get to economic systems in a bit!). establishing educational systems.

Transitional

A transitional government is one that is in the process of changing from one form to another. This usually happens after a civil war in a country in which the government has been destroyed and rival groups are fighting to take its place. Countries with transitional governments are often unstable.

What are some examples of a traditional government?

Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia

Mixed Economy

An economic system combining private and public enterprise.

What issues are common to both arguments for and against illegal immigration?

Arguments for face adversity with those who fear the economical crisis resulting due to immigrants. Arguments against face adversity with those who wish to stay loyal to the constitution.

How do we distinguish between forms of government?

Based on its' organization structure and the degree of control exercised over the society.

What are some examples of communism?

China and Cuba

Gross Domestic Product (GDP info)

Currency value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. Total income of a nation. Measure of nation's economic well-being. Measure of a nation's economic growth from one period to the next.

What are the forms of government?

Democracy, monarchy, theocracy, dictatorship, and transitional.

What doesn't GDP tell us?

Does not measure income distribution. Does not measure non-monetary output or transactions (e.g.., barter, household activities). Does not take into account desirable externalities, such as leisure or environment. Does not measure social well-being. Correlates to standard of living but is not a measure of standard of living

Which two economies are affected by each other?

Domestic economy is affected by the global economy.

What does economics have to do with?

Economics has to do with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.

Per Capita

For each person.

Where is the population shifting towards? What is the effect of this?

From the Frostbelt to the Sunbelt, or the South and the West. It affects the political balance in the U.S. House of Representatives.

What are the common measures of a country's economy, and what does each reflect?

GDP is the Gross Domestic Product. It measures the nation's economic well-being. Measure of a nation's economic growth from one period to the next. GNI is the Gross National Product. It is equal to the gross domestic product plus the net income from foreign investments.

Nominal GDP

GDP that is not adjusted for inflation. The value of goods and services in current prices.

What's included in GDP?

Goods- groceries, clothes, iPods. Services- haircuts, oil changes. Investment by business and households (fixed assets for production, new homes, inventories). Government Expenditures by local, state, and federal government (roads and schools). Net exports (value of a country's exports to other nations, less its imports from nations). GDP = Consumption + Investment + Government Spending + Net exports

What is an example of a largely unwritten constitution?

Great Britain

Economics

Has to do with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services

Income Distribution

How a nation's total GDP is distributed amongst its population.

What was the poverty threshold as of 2009?

In 2009, the poverty threshold was $22,050 for a family of 4.

Capitalism

In a capitalist country, people own their own companies and can manage them to earn a profit. Free from most government influence.

Theocracy

In a theocracy, government leaders are members of the clergy (church officials), and the state's legal system is based on religious law. Rulers are thought to be "divinely guided". Religious text = the law. EX: The Quran = the law, The Bible= the law

Over the last several decades, has the rate of the nation's population growth been increasing or decreasing? Explain the impact of changing birthrates and immigration rates on population growth.

In the 1930s, during the Great Depression, the growth rate fell sharply. The rate accelerated in the 1940s and the 1950s during the baby boom generation, or the significant number of Americans born post World War II. By the early 1960s, the population growth slowed until the 1900s, when immigration caused a sharp rise in population growth.

Describe how income is distributed in the United States today.

Income has become distributed more unequally over the past 30 years, with those in the top quintile (20%) earning more than the bottom 80% combined.

What's not included in GDP?

Intermediate goods. Used goods. Underground production. Financial transactions. Household production. Transfer payments.

What are some examples of a Theocracy?

Iran and the Vatican

What effect do population changes have on the House of Representatives?

It changes the amount of seats (more increases, less decreases).

What is the fastest growing ethnic group in the US?

Latinos

Describe the demographic changes in America over the last few decades.

Market share in the United States has been diminishing in companies due to foreign workers that immigrated illegally. International trade workers have suffered greatly from illegal immigrants taking their jobs. population growth affected the balance in the United States House of Representatives, as the Northeast and the Midwest lost seats due to a population decrease.

Explain how demographic change (in particular, immigration) affects the environment for policymaking.

Market share in the United States has been diminishing in companies due to foreign workers that immigrated illegally. International trade workers have suffered greatly from illegal immigrants taking their jobs. population growth affected the balance in the United States House of Representatives, as the Northeast and the Midwest lost seats due to a population decrease.

What is the poverty level greater for?

Minority groups, children, and families handled by women.

What are some examples of a dictatorship?

North Korea, Libya, Myanmar (Burma), and Sudan

What are the components of GDP?

Personal consumption expenditures, investment (fixed investments ((nonresidential and residential)) and inventories), government, and net exports (exports and imports).

Political Culture

Political culture is the set of attitudes, beliefs, and sentiments that give order and meaning to a political process and provide the underlying assumptions and rules that govern behavior in a political system.

What is political culture? What makes political culture significant when studying the politics of a nation?

Political culture is the set of attitudes, beliefs, and sentiments that give order and meaning to a political process and provide the underlying assumptions and rules that govern behavior in a political system.

What was the baby boom generation?

Post World War 2 the birthrates soared

How does the government measure poverty? Does this method over- or underestimate the problem?

Poverty threshold-- in 2009 the poverty threshold was $22,050 for a family of 4 14.3% of Americans live in poverty. It undermines it, because poverty level is greater for the minority groups, children, and the families headed by women.

What was the poverty threshold in 2009, and what percent of Americans lived in poverty for a family of four? When is poverty greater?

Poverty threshold-- in 2009 the poverty threshold was $22,050 for a family of 4 14.3% of Americans live in poverty. Poverty level is greater for the minority groups, children, and the families headed by women.

Discuss the pros and cons of immigration.

Pros: Illegal immigrants benefit the economy because they do jobs that most Americans find distasteful. Immigrants' children who are born in the United States are citizens, so parents can better provide for their children. The states are burdened with difficulties arising from the difficulties arising from the federal government's inaction, and putting illegal immigrants on the path to citizenship would free resources the states are using to police a national issue. Cons: Offering amnesty would encourage more illegal behavior. The economy is impacted negatively by paying for the illegal immigrants. Illegal immigrants could very well be terrorists.

What would be the impact on a democratic society if the government took control of all media sources?

The assembly loses its authority in that instance or the moral weight of the authority is overridden.

Income Distribution (info)

Rising gap between rich and poor. Important because a healthy democracy depends on the existence of a large middle class.

What are some examples of a monarchy?

Saudi Arabia, Brunei, Qatar, Oman, Great Britain (Constitutional Monarchy), Australia (Constitutional Monarchy), Morocco (Constitutional Monarchy), and Bhutan (Constitutional Monarchy—new!)

Your text describes the U.S. economy as facing increased competition. Explain the nature of that competition.

Skilled workers who can operate new technology are high in demand, as they can adapt quickly to technological advancements. Most jobs are taken up by these workers, which barely leaves room for inexperienced workers who don't understand technology. Jobs that pay low-wages have a lot of competition, as there is an immense amount of inexperienced workers who need those jobs.

Democracy

Supreme power is given to the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation. (Republic--most are this). Democratic countries have free elections where all citizens have a vote.

What is an example of socialism?

Sweden

What is the difference between the Sunbelt and the Frostbelt? Why do we use these terms?

The Sunbelt is in the western part of the United States, while the Frostbelt is the northern part of the United States. The Sunbelt is known for its' sunny weather, while the Frostbelt is known for being cold.

What is the effect of the aging population?

The United States financial solvency is stressed via Medicaid, Medicare, and social security.

How does the U.S. economy compare with the economies of Japan and Western Europe in terms of size (as measured both by GDP and GDP per capita) and growth rate?

The United States has around $46,790 GNI per capita, Japan has around $35,190, The United Kingdom has around $36,240, and Germany has about $35,950. The United States GDP was $14.9 trillion in late 2010 and Japan was $5.5 trillion.

What is the most foremost nation in the world, and in what categories is this true?

The United States in military, economics, and culture.

Describe the population of the U.S. in terms of racial and ethnic diversity and place of residence (rural or urban, Sunbelt or Frostbelt).

The United States is roughly 65% white, 16% Latino, 13% African American, 5% Asian American, and 1% American Indian/Alaska Native. The United States population has been migrating to the Sunbelt (the South and the West) and away from the Frostbelt (the Northeast and the Midwest). 60% of the population resides within the Sunbelt and 40% in the Frostbelt. A century earlier, the opposite was true. Around 80.7% of the population lives in the urban area of the United States, while about 19.3 live in the rural areas.

What are some examples of democracies?

The United States of America and the Philippines

Which economy has the largest GDP? The highest standard of living?

The United States. Outpaced rates of growth in competitor economies in recent years.

Constitution

The basic law determining the form of government

Standard of Living

The degree of wealth and material comfort available to a person or community.

Real GDP

The dollar price of GDP in a base year's price, used to compare changes in GDP from one year to the next. An increase in real GDP is an increase in economic growth.

Global Economy

The financial monetary system around the world.

Poverty Threshold

The minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country.

What is the poverty threshold, and how is it determined?

The minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. Measured by size and by age.

Monarchy

The office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication, often hereditary, longest lasting form of government, King, Queen, Emperor, Empress is the leader, constitutional monarchies are more common today. Under this system, the powers of the king or queen are restricted to those granted in the constitution

What are some of the issues that have changed the place of the Sunbelt in American political life?

The region's economic prosperity has been uneven and at one point 23 out of the 25 largest metropolitan regions with the lowest per capita incomes in the U.S. were in the Sun Belt. In addition, the rapid growth in places like Los Angeles caused various environmental problems, one of the most significant of which was and still is air pollution.

Racial Profiling

The use of race/ethnicity as grounds for suspecting someone of having committed an offense.

In what ways is the domestic economy affected by the global economy?

Trade agreements reduce barriers to trade among countries of the world. High-technology industries require skilled workers. It hurts nations with low-skilled, poorly educated workers. Developed nations find low-skill jobs leaving for those nations where wages are lower.

What kind of society is the US?

U.S. is a multiracial and multiethnic society.

What is an example of a written constitution?

United States

What is the spectrum from Capitalism to Communism?

United States, Canada, Sweden, China, Cuba, North Korea

What are some examples of capitalism?

United States, New Zealand

What complicates GDP?

When GDP is computed in the current year's prices, rising prices (inflation) can make it difficult to determine if a change in GDP from one year to the next is due to the country's production of more goods and services or to increases in the price level.

How do democracy and capitalism contribute to America's political culture today?

While it allows American's more freedom, it also allows more disagreement and more debate.

Is the US population "aging"?

Yes.

Developing Country

a poor, agricultural country that is seeking to become more advanced economically and socially.

Superpower

a very powerful and influential nation.

Census

an official count/survey of a population, typically recording various details of individuals.

Social Security

any government system that provides monetary assistance to people with an inadequate or no income.

Immigration

the action of coming to live permanently in a foreign country.

Public Sector

the part of an economy that is controlled by the government.

Private Sector

the part of an economy that is not controlled by the government

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

the total value of goods produced and services provided in a country during one year.