-
Why does the Protective Democratic Model call for a passive citizenry with respect to
governmental affairs?
- because government should protect everyone’s liberty from the selfish and
- acquisitive human nature of others that manifests itself when citizens are active in
- government
-
What are Mortgage-Backed Securities (M.B.S.s)?
A bundle of mortgage payments sold as a single derivative to investors
-
The Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson, stated that:
- people have an inalienable right of liberty, which is not merely granted by the
- government
- people have the duty to overthrow government when a pattern of abuse is
- established
- the colonies are legally separating from Great Britain
-
Representation in the Confederation Congress (under the Articles of Confederation) was
based on which of the following formulae:
the one-house Congress was based on state equality (one state, one vote)
-
According to James Madison in Federalist Paper #10, what is "the first object of
government"?
to protect unequal abilities to acquire property
-
According to James Madison in Federalist Paper #10, the "most dangerous" faction is:
one based on majority
-
Which of the following did James Madison in Federalist Paper #10 believe would guard
against the most dangerous faction?
a large republic
-
Why did a Mortgage-Backed Security (M.B.S.) seem like a good investment?
- An investor could purchase insurance on it, it was rated as safe, and the investor
- did not have to worry about stock market fluctuations
-
As stated in lecture, what is one interpretation of Rousseau's statement, "Man is born free,
but is everywhere in chains?"
- modern society has institutionalized inequalities that developed over time in the
- state of nature
-
According to the broad spectrum of social contract theory, why does government exist?
- government exists because individuals seek self-preservation and use rationality
- to form government (since the state of nature can no longer guarantee long term
- self-preservation)
-
What are two reasons that a Greek style city-state may not work well in the United States?
- scale (US population is too large) and exclusivity (only select males participated
- in the city-state)
-
Why do some people blame the Federal Reserve for bursting the housing bubble?
- The Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate from an all time low in 2004 to
- 5.25% in 2006, causing adjustable rate mortgages to increase its interest rates
-
Why did some banks and insurance companies (e.g., A.I.G.) go bankrupt and require
taxpayer dollars to operate after the burst of the housing bubble?
- These banks and insurance companies were over-leveraged, operating mainly on
- borrowed money
-
What was the key component of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933?
- It separated the activities and treasuries of commercial banks from investment
- banks
-
According to James Madison in Federalist Paper #10, what is the “most common a durable
source of faction”?
The unequal distribution of property
-
In Federalist Paper #51, Madison describes:
- the solution to finding a government to control the citizenry and a government
- that controls itself, which is federalism and the separation of powers.
-
In Federalist Paper #51, Madison explicitly describes his thoughts on human nature. His
view of human nature can be described as:
- negative, men are not angels and are too ambitious once they achieve a powerful
- position in government
-
Thomas Hobbes views the state of nature as:
negative, claiming that the state of nature is similar to the state of war
-
The British style of government is characterized by:
the fusion of the executive and legislative responsibilities into a Cabinet
-
The President of the United States must operate within a system of checks and balances, but
what mechanisms prevent the Prime Minister of England from instituting unpopular policies?
the general election and his/her own political party
-
Who espouses the version of social contract theory where individuals relinquish their rights
in the state nature to an all powerful authority in return for coerced perpetual peace?
Thomas Hobbes
-
According to James Madison in Federalist Paper #10, a republic differs from a democracy in
two ways, which are:
- In a republic, a political representative participates in day-to-day governing, and a
- republic can accommodate more citizens and a larger territory
-
What was the purpose of the 85 essays that make up the Federalist Papers?
- To convince the voting population that the U.S. Constitution was the best
- governing document to strengthen the Union and national government
-
A grant given to a state from the federal government specifying exactly how the money
should be spent within a policy domain (e.g. highway construction money being spent on
repaving), is an example of:
categorical grants
-
What was the key component of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act (a.k.a. Gramm-
Leach-Bliley) that may have exacerbated the severity of the financial crisis?
It overturned Glass-Steagall of 1933
-
The doctrine that the federal government should financially support large financial
institutions if those institutions fail because their failing will create economic and financial
hardship is called:
Too Big To Fail
-
What was the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) designed to do?
- Make the government buy poor performing Mortgage-Backed Securities at fair
- market value, but ended up giving most of the $700 billion of TARP money to
- banks directly
-
According to Schmidt et al, “a form of government that controls all aspects of the political
and social life of a nation,” is called:
A totalitarian regime
-
According to Schmidt et al, what form of government is defined as “rule by the best,” but in
reality it is “rule by an upper class”?
An aristocracy
-
According to lecture, what characterizes enlightenment thought?
empirical observation leads to finding the truth
-
What does Schmidt et al mention as a criticism of pluralist theory (a.k.a. pluralism)?
- Poor citizens are under-represented by the existing set of interest groups, while
- rich citizens are over-represented
-
Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution is typically referred to as:
the enumerated/expressed powers of Congress
-
According to Schmidt et al, a “set of ideas, values and ways of thinking about government
and politics shared by all citizens,” is called:
A political culture
-
The Supreme Court in Kelo v. City of New London (2005) decided:
- The use of eminent domain by the government to give land to private developers
- is constitutional
-
According to Schmidt et al, the Mayflower Compact:
- Was an agreement among a small group of individuals to live together, equal
- under the law
-
According to Schmidt et al, the First Continental Congress decided to:
- Raise troops in the colonies
- Boycott British trade
- Hire spy committees in each city to catch violators of the British trade boycott
-
The Connecticut (or Great) Compromise created:
- A bicameral national legislature; the number of representatives in the House of
- Representatives determined by state population, and the Senate based on state
- equality
-
The 3/5 Compromise is:
- Slaves count as 3/5 of a person when determining state population, increasing the
- amount of representatives a state receives in Congress, especially southern states
-
Article II of the Constitution references which branch of government?
Executive
-
According to Hudson, the separation of powers system is characterized by:
A lack of responsiveness to the majority
-
According to Schmidt et al, one argument against having a federal system of government is:
- Regional inequalities (e.g. inequality in education spending, building safety
- codes)
-
Which of the following is an example of a concurrent power?
Power to tax
-
In Gibbons v. Ogden (1824), the Supreme Court:
- Ruled that commerce should be interpreted in the broadest sense, to encompass all
- commercial business dealings
-
According to Schmidt et al, the first national income tax was passed to:
Pay for the huge debt caused by the Civil War
-
The Tea Act of 1773 passed by the British Parliament and imposed on the American colonies
stated:
- The East India Tea company (a multinational corporation) could sell their tea
- without tax
-
On August 29th, 1786, in Northampton, Mass., a group of over 2000 men stormed a
courthouse to stop legal proceedings on farm foreclosures, debt repayment, and debt
imprisonment. This event began what is known as:
Shays’s Rebellion
-
According to Hudson, what is the Jeffersonian Model of governing?
- To overcome the lawmaking difficulties caused by the separation of powers with
- strong political party discipline
-
What does the Prisoner’s Dilemma tell us about the libertarian ideology?
- It is wrong to assume that an individual can obtain full maximization of his/her
- goals without the help of others
-
Who argues that the state of nature is pre-political, but not pre-moral, and that the object of
government is to protect private property?
John Locke
-
According to Charles Beard, the U.S. Constitution represents:
- The Framers’ intent to preserve the existing unequal distribution of property and
- wealth in the United States
|
|
