POLS
220
BERCH
SPRING
15
Review
for Exam #1
Exam
#1 takes place during class time on Monday, February 9. You simply need to bring pencil, Scantron
form 882-E, and photo ID. The exam will
consist of 20-25 true-false and/or multiple choice questions. You should answer all questions, as there is
no penalty for guessing.
To prepare for the exam, you should read through the blog assignment, In terms of material covered in class, you should be familiar with the first set of lecture notes. Specifically, from class, you should be familiar with:
Why we compare states.
To prepare for the exam, you should read through the blog assignment, In terms of material covered in class, you should be familiar with the first set of lecture notes. Specifically, from class, you should be familiar with:
Why we compare states.
The
three types of political culture.
The
origins of the federal system.
The
major events in the development of federalism over time.
The
different types of fiscal federalism.
The
importance of conditions of aid.
The
changes to fiscal federalism under Ronald Reagan.
Why
some states get more federal aid than do others.
The
interaction between Dillon's Rule and Home Rule
Why some states give more power to local government than do others.
Why some states give more power to local government than do others.
The
role of regional bodies.
.
I will have my usual office hours on the day of the exam, in case you want to ask questions. You can also email them to me at the email address on the syllabus, until 9 pm on February 8. Finally, you may post questions to the blog under this topic. I’ll answer any questions posted on the blog by 8 pm on February 8. Good luck!--NB
Update: I'm in hospital (exam is still on as scheduled). I'll try to answer blog questions as late as possible on Monday. If you have a very late question, you can call 412-445-3957 during office hours. Depending on medical tests, I'll try to talk with you.
I will have my usual office hours on the day of the exam, in case you want to ask questions. You can also email them to me at the email address on the syllabus, until 9 pm on February 8. Finally, you may post questions to the blog under this topic. I’ll answer any questions posted on the blog by 8 pm on February 8. Good luck!--NB
Update: I'm in hospital (exam is still on as scheduled). I'll try to answer blog questions as late as possible on Monday. If you have a very late question, you can call 412-445-3957 during office hours. Depending on medical tests, I'll try to talk with you.
I can't seem to find the answer to "Why do we compare states?"
ReplyDeleteIn the notes I know we talked about why there are states.
We talked about how, unlike for instance, chemists, political scientists can't run experiments. So, we take advantage of the fact that states are pretty similar to onee another. We use them for pseudo-experiments that hold many things constant (or close to constant) in a way that allows us to use the states to test propositions about politics.
ReplyDeleteCould you explain Dillon's Rule and Home Rule a little more so I can understand.
ReplyDeleteIn 1868, Federal Judge Dillon ruled in Iowa that states could give whatever powers they wanted to local government, but they could also take them back whenever they wanted. Some states found a way around that through Home Rule, where cities created a charter (like a mini-constitution). If the state approved it, the city could have its own powers that couldn't be taken away except for a finding of corruption or incompetence.
DeleteCan anybody help me expain some of the changes that were made with fiscal federalism under Ronald Reagan?
ReplyDeleteThe quick version: he folded categorical grants into block grants, ended general revenue sharing, and reduced total amount of federal aid.
DeleteOn the study guide when it asks the conditions of aid, can someone help and go into a little bit of detail as to what that is referring to?
ReplyDeleteSee section in lecture notes on conditions of aid. National government used these conditions (like if you don't raise you're drinking age to 21, you lose 10% of your federal highway grant money) to get states to do things that they can't require them to do (even under Necessary and Proper Clause). It is a way to further weaken 10th Amendment.
DeleteI had one more question. Why do some states give more power to local government than do others?
ReplyDeleteSome states are more heterogeneous than others (people throughout state are more different from one another). Those states tend to give more power to local government, so (for instance) New York City can have strict gun control laws and upstate New York can have lenient ones.
DeleteWere the Anti-Federalists more for an Articles of Confederation type of government because it was directed toward power in the states?
ReplyDeleteAnd with the Articles of Confederation, did the the thirteen colonies have agree with one another to get anything established or were each of them on their own?
DeleteYes, meaning anti-Federalists preferred state power. Also, yes, that under Articles of Confederation, unanimity was needed to get things done
DeleteWhat would you say are the main developments of federalism over the years?
ReplyDeleteNot only would I say, I did say at some length. Please take a look at the lecture notes.
DeleteCan you explain more details about the role of regional bodies
ReplyDeleteWe talked about how sometimes states band together and create a joint government just for one type of issue. For instance, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey deals with all transportation issues in the New York City Area.
DeleteWhat were the different types of fiscal federalism? I know that fiscal federalism helped the national government gain more power through “conditions of aid” and has to do with how the national government issues grants, but besides that I don’t know the specific types. Are you looking for categorical grants, block grants, conditional transfers, and unconditional transfers?
ReplyDeleteYou're on the right track. You can classify grants based on how much discretion the recipient government has in how they use the money: categorical (for very specific purposes), block (can be used for anything in a general policy area--like K-12 education), or general revenue sharing (receiving government could use the money for whatever it wanted--this was abolished in 1986). You can also classify grants base on how you get the money: project (you apply, applications are scored, and highest-scoring applications get the money) or formula (every eligible government gets the money based on a formula with relevant variables)
Deletei have one more quick question, on the chart it says that categorical grants are not formula grants ever but in my lecture notes it's says they are sometimes..so which way does it go? I know formula is usually block and project is usually categorical and rarely block but can formula also be categorical?
ReplyDeleteCould anyone explain interposition and nullification as it pertains to the development of federalism?
ReplyDeleteWhen Federalist President John Adams and the Federalist Congress passed the Alien and Sedition Acts (which said, among other things, that you couldn't say bad things about the national government), Virginia and Kentucky passed resolutions saying they were stepping between the national government and their respective citizens, claim they were nullifying these laws (saying they don't apply to their citizens). This doctrine was called interposition and nullification, and it was a key claim of states rights' advocates. Those who believe in strong national government said states can't do this, or we'd have a confederal system rather than a federal system. That argument was the basis for both the civil war and civil rights cases. The Interposition and Nullification side obviously lost.
Deletetest
ReplyDelete