Does Islamic political control affect women's empowerment? Several countries have recently experienced Islamic parties coming to power through democratic elections. Due to strong support among religious conservatives, constituencies with Islamic rule often tend to exhibit poor women's rights. Whether this relationship reflects a causal or a spurious one has so far gone unexplored. I provide the first piece of evidence using a new and unique dataset of Turkish municipalities. In 1994, an Islamic party won multiple municipal mayor seats across the country. Using a regression discontinuity (RD) design, I compare municipalities where this Islamic party barely won or lost elections. Despite negative raw correlations, the RD results reveal that over a period of six years, Islamic rule increased female secular high school education. Corresponding effects for men are systematically smaller and less precise. In the longer run, the effect on female education remained persistent up to 17 years after and also reduced adolescent marriages. An analysis of long-run political effects of Islamic rule shows increased female political participation and an overall decrease in Islamic political preferences. The results are consistent with an explanation that emphasizes the Islamic party's effectiveness in
overcoming barriers to female entry for the poor and pious.
Does Islamic political control affect women's empowerment? Several countries have recently experienced Islamic parties coming to power through democratic elections. Due to strong support among religious conservatives, constituencies with Islamic rule often tend to exhibit poor women's rights. Whether this relationship reflects a causal or a spurious one has so far gone unexplored. I provide the first piece of evidence using a new and unique dataset of Turkish municipalities. In 1994, an Islamic party won multiple municipal mayor seats across the country. Using a regression discontinuity (RD) design, I compare municipalities where this Islamic party barely won or lost elections. Despite negative raw correlations, the RD results reveal that over a period of six years, Islamic rule increased female secular high school education. Corresponding effects for men are systematically smaller and less precise. In the longer run, the effect on female education remained persistent up to 17 years after and also reduced adolescent marriages. An analysis of long-run political effects of Islamic rule shows increased female political participation and an overall decrease in Islamic political preferences. The results are consistent with an explanation that emphasizes the Islamic party's effectiveness in
overcoming barriers to female entry for the poor and pious.
1.. Islamic Rule and the Emancipation of the Poor and Pious
I estimate the impact of Islamic rule on secular education and labor market outcomes with a new and unique dataset of Turkish municipalities. Using a regression discontinuity design, I compare elections where an Islamic party barely won or lost municipal mayor seats. The results show that Islamic rule has had a large positive effect on education, predominantly for women. This impact is not only larger when the opposing candidate is from a secular left-wing, instead of a right-wing party; it is also larger in poorer and more pious areas. The participation result extends to the labor market, with fewer women classified as housewives, a larger share of employed women receiving wages, and a shift in female employment towards higher-paying sectors. Part of the increased participation, especially in education, may come through investment from religious foundations, by providing facilities more tailored toward religious conservatives. Altogether, my findings stand in contrast to the stylized view that more Islamic in‡uence is invariably associated with adverse development outcomes, especially for women. One interpretation is that limits on religious expression, such as the headscarf ban in public institutions, raise barriers to entry for the poor and pious. In such environments, Islamic movements may have an advantage over secular alternatives.
2. Islam and Long-Run Development
I show new evidence on the long-run impact of Islam on economic development. Using the proximity to Mecca as an instrument for the Muslim share of a country's population, while holding geographic factors fixed, I show that Islam has had a negative long-run impact on income per capita. This result is robust to a host of geographic, demographic and historical factors, and the impact magnitude is around three times that of basic cross-sectional estimates. I also show evidence of the impact of Islam on religious influence in legal institutions and women's rights, two outcomes seen as closely associated with the presence of Islam. A larger Islamic influence has led to a larger religious influence in legal institutions and lower female participation in public institutions. But it has also had a positive impact on several measures of female health outcomes relative to men. These results stand in contrast to the view that Islam has invariably adverse consequences for all forms of women's living standards, and instead emphasizes the link between lower incomes and lower female participation in public institutions.
3. The Rise of China and the Natural Resource Curse in Africa
We produce a new empirical strategy to estimate the causal impact of selling oil to China on economic and political development, using an instrumental variables design based on China's economic rise and consequent demand for oil in interaction with the pre-existence of oil in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Across the country, states are seeking new ways to become more economically competitive and better ways to grow. Unfortunately, economic prosperity can be elusive, as some policy prescriptions that are supposed to help miss the mark. All too often, myths about taxes and budgets are prevalent in public policy debates and misinformation abounds. It is important to set the record straight with the facts regarding which policies allow a state to prosper and which policies can trap a state in economic malaise.
In Tax Myths Debunked, renowned economists Dr. Randall Pozdena, former vice president of research at the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, and Dr. Eric Fruits refute the Left’s popularly repeated myths about taxes and spending. Using both theoretical and empirical evidence, Tax Myths Debunked confirms what is clearly proven in Rich States, Poor States: The key to economic prosperity at the state level is in free-market, pro-growth tax and fiscal policy.
For more information, please visit www.alec.org
Corruption is an issue that is affecting many countries in the world, and there are several approaches that have been found to effective depending on the other external factors. The Unites States has several anti-corruption approaches that were invested in countries of interest such as Afghanistan; however, these have failed dismally. The US government has spent over $70 million in different sectors that was intended to support anti-corruption initiative through the government, law enforcement, and journalists. However, there were several reports that were released indicated the lack of preparation and the strategic flaws in the approach taken by the United States. Afghanistan still poses a security risk to the United States, and public funding towards reconstruction of the country should take an evidence based approach that considers effective mechanisms applies in similar regimes. This paper evaluate the current framework of the procurement to preventing corruption by the United States and evidence based mechanisms by organizations that havebeen resistant to corruption.
With the arrival of the PT to the federal government, with Lula and then with Dilma Rousseff, the past twelve years, Machiavellianism was elevated to the extreme with the rigging of the Brazilian government, whose ministries and public enterprises were taken by assault which came to be allotted to the parties that support the government. Each party receives a share of the administration, including ministries, state enterprises and other public bodies, which are to be managed as if they were properties of these parties and their bosses and can freely appoint his nominees, regardless of whether they have technical, ethical or moral qualifications well to manage public affairs. It should be noted that this practice was not started by the governments of the PT, but was "improved" in the past 12 years overwhelmingly as evidenced in the process of "mensalão" which investigated the buying of votes of legislators in Congress and in Operation “Lava Jato” of Federal Police that is investigating the assault carried out against Petrobras.
Numerous scandals occurred during the eight years of the Lula government and the four years of Dilma Rousseff government, when several ministers and members of the second tier were accused of corruption and eventually left their positions, which were passed on to other indicated by the same parties and the spree with public money continued with impunity. The greatest symbol of corruption during the Lula government was the "mensalão", which first took some important policy to prison, though with extremely soft feathers, compared to those received by operators without parliamentary mandate, as Marcos Valerio. With the termination of the purchase of the Pasadena refinery in the United States by Petrobras, which resulted in a loss of more than one billion dollars, the largest business deal coming to the public, it was thought that the matter was finished. Another complaint came to public as the overpricing of the construction of the Abreu e Lima refinery in Pernambuco. To complete the ethical and moral collapse of PT governments, the Brazilian people became aware that we are facing the biggest scandal and robbery ever recorded in the history of Brazil, since the proclamation of the Republic, with the arrests of Youssef money changer and Petrobras's former director, Paulo Roberto Costa. Petrobras had been victimized at R$ 88 billion by the collusion of the PT and allied parties, contractors and oil executives.
The closer we get to the elections, the more debates come to fruition. The political scenario is one of uncertainty and a fertile field for the most varied analysis!
Our March newsletter goes on with the series "Presidential Candidates" with the polemic Jair Bolsonaro, besides many international, local, economic and political analysis.
In this edition, we also bring a bit of the day to day of the professional of government relations, with information for a better understanding of the practice.
Always with the aim of stimulating the best debate, we wish everyone an excellent reading!
1.. Islamic Rule and the Emancipation of the Poor and Pious
I estimate the impact of Islamic rule on secular education and labor market outcomes with a new and unique dataset of Turkish municipalities. Using a regression discontinuity design, I compare elections where an Islamic party barely won or lost municipal mayor seats. The results show that Islamic rule has had a large positive effect on education, predominantly for women. This impact is not only larger when the opposing candidate is from a secular left-wing, instead of a right-wing party; it is also larger in poorer and more pious areas. The participation result extends to the labor market, with fewer women classified as housewives, a larger share of employed women receiving wages, and a shift in female employment towards higher-paying sectors. Part of the increased participation, especially in education, may come through investment from religious foundations, by providing facilities more tailored toward religious conservatives. Altogether, my findings stand in contrast to the stylized view that more Islamic in‡uence is invariably associated with adverse development outcomes, especially for women. One interpretation is that limits on religious expression, such as the headscarf ban in public institutions, raise barriers to entry for the poor and pious. In such environments, Islamic movements may have an advantage over secular alternatives.
2. Islam and Long-Run Development
I show new evidence on the long-run impact of Islam on economic development. Using the proximity to Mecca as an instrument for the Muslim share of a country's population, while holding geographic factors fixed, I show that Islam has had a negative long-run impact on income per capita. This result is robust to a host of geographic, demographic and historical factors, and the impact magnitude is around three times that of basic cross-sectional estimates. I also show evidence of the impact of Islam on religious influence in legal institutions and women's rights, two outcomes seen as closely associated with the presence of Islam. A larger Islamic influence has led to a larger religious influence in legal institutions and lower female participation in public institutions. But it has also had a positive impact on several measures of female health outcomes relative to men. These results stand in contrast to the view that Islam has invariably adverse consequences for all forms of women's living standards, and instead emphasizes the link between lower incomes and lower female participation in public institutions.
3. The Rise of China and the Natural Resource Curse in Africa
We produce a new empirical strategy to estimate the causal impact of selling oil to China on economic and political development, using an instrumental variables design based on China's economic rise and consequent demand for oil in interaction with the pre-existence of oil in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Across the country, states are seeking new ways to become more economically competitive and better ways to grow. Unfortunately, economic prosperity can be elusive, as some policy prescriptions that are supposed to help miss the mark. All too often, myths about taxes and budgets are prevalent in public policy debates and misinformation abounds. It is important to set the record straight with the facts regarding which policies allow a state to prosper and which policies can trap a state in economic malaise.
In Tax Myths Debunked, renowned economists Dr. Randall Pozdena, former vice president of research at the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, and Dr. Eric Fruits refute the Left’s popularly repeated myths about taxes and spending. Using both theoretical and empirical evidence, Tax Myths Debunked confirms what is clearly proven in Rich States, Poor States: The key to economic prosperity at the state level is in free-market, pro-growth tax and fiscal policy.
For more information, please visit www.alec.org
Corruption is an issue that is affecting many countries in the world, and there are several approaches that have been found to effective depending on the other external factors. The Unites States has several anti-corruption approaches that were invested in countries of interest such as Afghanistan; however, these have failed dismally. The US government has spent over $70 million in different sectors that was intended to support anti-corruption initiative through the government, law enforcement, and journalists. However, there were several reports that were released indicated the lack of preparation and the strategic flaws in the approach taken by the United States. Afghanistan still poses a security risk to the United States, and public funding towards reconstruction of the country should take an evidence based approach that considers effective mechanisms applies in similar regimes. This paper evaluate the current framework of the procurement to preventing corruption by the United States and evidence based mechanisms by organizations that havebeen resistant to corruption.
With the arrival of the PT to the federal government, with Lula and then with Dilma Rousseff, the past twelve years, Machiavellianism was elevated to the extreme with the rigging of the Brazilian government, whose ministries and public enterprises were taken by assault which came to be allotted to the parties that support the government. Each party receives a share of the administration, including ministries, state enterprises and other public bodies, which are to be managed as if they were properties of these parties and their bosses and can freely appoint his nominees, regardless of whether they have technical, ethical or moral qualifications well to manage public affairs. It should be noted that this practice was not started by the governments of the PT, but was "improved" in the past 12 years overwhelmingly as evidenced in the process of "mensalão" which investigated the buying of votes of legislators in Congress and in Operation “Lava Jato” of Federal Police that is investigating the assault carried out against Petrobras.
Numerous scandals occurred during the eight years of the Lula government and the four years of Dilma Rousseff government, when several ministers and members of the second tier were accused of corruption and eventually left their positions, which were passed on to other indicated by the same parties and the spree with public money continued with impunity. The greatest symbol of corruption during the Lula government was the "mensalão", which first took some important policy to prison, though with extremely soft feathers, compared to those received by operators without parliamentary mandate, as Marcos Valerio. With the termination of the purchase of the Pasadena refinery in the United States by Petrobras, which resulted in a loss of more than one billion dollars, the largest business deal coming to the public, it was thought that the matter was finished. Another complaint came to public as the overpricing of the construction of the Abreu e Lima refinery in Pernambuco. To complete the ethical and moral collapse of PT governments, the Brazilian people became aware that we are facing the biggest scandal and robbery ever recorded in the history of Brazil, since the proclamation of the Republic, with the arrests of Youssef money changer and Petrobras's former director, Paulo Roberto Costa. Petrobras had been victimized at R$ 88 billion by the collusion of the PT and allied parties, contractors and oil executives.
The closer we get to the elections, the more debates come to fruition. The political scenario is one of uncertainty and a fertile field for the most varied analysis!
Our March newsletter goes on with the series "Presidential Candidates" with the polemic Jair Bolsonaro, besides many international, local, economic and political analysis.
In this edition, we also bring a bit of the day to day of the professional of government relations, with information for a better understanding of the practice.
Always with the aim of stimulating the best debate, we wish everyone an excellent reading!
How do these readings ( Chapter 1 of LaMorte and Corkill et al.docxsalmonpybus
How do these readings ( Chapter 1 of LaMorte and Corkill et al. (n.d.) article) change the view of the role of a school or organizational leader and implementation of the law?
LaMorte, M. (2012). School law: Cases and concepts. 10th edition. Pearson Education: London, England.
CHAPTER 1: Educational Governance: Sources of Law and the Courts
Governance in the United States is based on the notion that we are “a nation of laws and not of men.” In other words, we are governed by the rule of law and not by the whims of those in power who openly flout the law. Consequently, those involved in making and enforcing public school policy should ensure that their actions are lawful. Educational policy may not be enforced arbitrarily or capriciously but must be based on such appropriate legal authority as federal or state constitutional or statutory provisions, state board of education or state department of education regulations, case law, or local school board policy.
However, there are several forces operating that at times make it difficult for those who administer public schools to function in a lawful manner. These forces include a system of government comprised of several levels and corresponding branches that bear on the educational enterprise; changing and sometimes conflicting laws or policies emanating from these levels and branches; and a climate of legal uncertainty that sometimes surrounds controversial educational issues that become highly politicized.
Under the U.S. system of government, the three levels—federal, state, and local—all have a voice in educational matters, although they may not necessarily be in unison. Difficulties may also develop when areas of educational governance overlap considerably in responsibility among the three levels of government and their corresponding branches— executive, legislative, and judicial. These difficulties may be exacerbated not only by the unclear delineation of authority but also in determining with certainty which authority is supreme when irreconcilable conflicts exist.
Although education is not specifically mentioned in the federal Constitution, the federal government has had a historic involvement in it. In fact, programs under various federal laws pertaining to K–12 education in recent years have made up nearly 9 percent of the total amount of money expended for public elementary and secondary education. And in the last half of the twentieth century, the federal judiciary often found itself playing the role of a pervasive and significant force in influencing educational policy. Such controversial public education issues as racial segregation in schools, financing of schools, due process for both students and teachers, the role of religion in the schools, searches of students and teachers, and the extent to which students and teachers may engage in freedom of expression were all addressed by the federal judiciary.
State government has plenary power* over public education, and this power is ca.
PUB 503 MLTheories, Principles, & Practice of Public Administration.docxwoodruffeloisa
PUB 503 ML:Theories, Principles, & Practice of Public Administration Questions & Key Terms [Day Three]
Critical Thinking Questions
1. Is the organization a product of our national culture? How does our American culture influence our public service employees? Where does freedom end and order begins? Give me your opinion along with some examples.
2. What is leadership? Is the leadership roles different of elected officials as opposed to the administrated roles? How does the transactional role of the administrator differ from the transformational role of the elected official? Give some examples of each.
3. What is human capital? Does the morale of the workers effect the leader- follower relationship in the workplace? What can governments’ human capital managers do to positively impact their followers work product? Discus and give some examples.
4. What is a “whistleblower” and how are they protected by Congress?
Managing Human Capital in the Public and Nonprofit Sectors
1
1
People as Human Capital
Personnel administration, or personnel management, is the planning and policymaking for, and managing of, employees, and is
limited to “internal” processes, such as compensation.
During the 1980s, a more modern view emerged: human resource management, which expands the field by
including “external” processes, such as professional development.
Currently, human capital management views employees as valuable assets that can be further enriched through greater investment, and
aligns human capital policies with the organization’s mission.
Personnel-lists, or professionals and specialists in the field, often use these terms interchangeably, as do we., the most commonly used initials “HR” designates all three titles.
Nevertheless, they do have differences:
each successive title represents a broader concept that places an increasing emphasis on the worth of employees.
2
Who Wants To Work And Who Doesn’t?
Over five consecutive years, the percentage of undergraduates who planned to work for the federal, state, or local government “immediately after graduation” declined by nearly half:
Local governments, however, exert a particular pull;
82 percent of women and 74 percent of men who once worked in local government would “consider returning” to a local government leadership position.4
Barely half of students in masters of public administration (MPA) and similar programs express interest in being employed by government, and, at the twenty top programs, not even half are.
More generally, white people, Republicans, and those who never served in the military are overrepresented among those Americans who spurn working for government.
An astonishing 56 percent of corporate and nonprofit managers are not or “not at all” interested in working for the federal government, and only
17 percent express any interest in doing so.
None of this is good news for governments, but the real story lies with growing student interest in working in the ...
US History DB1
Name
Class
Date
Professor
Age of Enlightenment
Part One
The Age of Enlightenment was a period in European and American history where people in society began to apply reason to their thought process and began to investigate alternative modes of thinking. During the Enlightenment social institutions, political and economic processes, and just about every aspect of society was approach applying reasoning, this resulted in a great deal of reform. The Age of Enlightenment heavily influenced a whole new approach to government and the treatment of citizens in a free society.
The new way of thinking that developed out of the age of enlightenment influenced great American thinkers resulting in important documents, such as the United States Constitution and Declaration of Independence. The Enlightenment influenced the development of a new world inspired by important figures, such as Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin, to name a few. For example Benjamin Franklin believed citizens should have the right to pursue wealth or their own self interest (Ralston, 2013). Due to this thinking Jefferson embraced the right of Americans to pursue happiness and the right to liberty.
Part Two
The thinking that developed out of the Age of Enlightenment is still important and significant in American society. Americans are still afforded natural rights, originally suggested by Locke, and have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (Sage, 2012). The ideas of Thomas Jefferson concerning the rights that should be afforded the citizen are still fiercely guarded and still shape how laws and policies are made in the country. Thanks to the Age of Enlightenment citizens in America are afforded due process rights in legal proceedings and reason is applied to the development of new laws.
The ideas developed out of the Age of enlightenment are still relevant to modern society because reason is the norm in the way influential people in the country make decisions. Thanks to the enlightenment scientific methods are applied to research and laws are created designed to protect the people not the government. Every aspect of American society has been influenced by this new way of thinking. The focus is on creating a better society that ensures everyone in society has the same opportunities instead of the focus being on a religious society and worshipping some monarch.
References
Ralston, S. (2013). American Enlightenment Thought. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Retrieved February 11, 2014 from http://www.iep.utm.edu/amer-enl/#SH3a
Sage, H. (2012). The Enlightenment in America. Retrieve February 11, 2014 from
http://resources.saylor.org.s3.amazonaws.com/HIST/HIST211/HIST211-1.4.1
Federal Government
US Federal Government Expansion of Authority
Name
Class
HIST105
Professor
US Federal Government Expansion of Authority
The following essa ...
The republicans opportunity to restore americaMary Lee Harsha
This PDF was written by Craig Biddle at The Objective Standard. Craig gave me permission to spread it far and wide. It addresses what the Republicans need to know if they are going to restore America.
PUB 611Seminar in Public Human Resources Administration Midterm Exa.docxwoodruffeloisa
PUB 611Seminar in Public Human Resources Administration: Midterm Exam
Exam Questions
1. Identify and describe the four public personnel management functions (PADS).
2. What are the four competing values that have traditionally affected the allocation of public jobs? Which three nongovernment values that have emerged recently conflict with them?
3. What are the pros and cons of contracting out? If you have experience with contracting out, what challenges did you face in writing the contract specifications and what challenges did you face in administering the contract?
4. How does the historical development of job analysis relate to the differing objectives of elected and appointed officials, merit system advocates, HR directors and specialists, supervisors and managers, and employees? How are these reflected in the concepts of position management, human resource management, and career development?
5. Describe the contemporary pay and benefits environment.
6. Identify the elements included in a total compensation package.
7. Describe the comparative advantages and disadvantages of competing systems used to determine pay—point-factor job evaluation, rank-in person, and broad-banding.
8. Discuss how conflicts over the fairness of EEO, AA, and diversity management programs have affected the role of the public HR manager in achieving both productivity and fairness.
Social Equity and Diversity Management
Dr. James R. Welsh
Barry University
1
1
2
Man is the most composite of all creatures....
“Well, as in the old burning of the Temple at Corinth, by the melting and intermixture of silver and gold and other metals a new compound more precious than any, called Corinthian brass, was formed; so in this continent,--asylum of all nations,--the energy of Irish, Germans, Swedes, Poles, and Cossacks, and all the European tribes,--of the Africans, and of the Polynesians,--will construct a new race, a new religion, a new state, a new literature, which will be as vigorous as the new Europe which came out of the smelting-pot of the Dark Ages, or that which earlier emerged from the Pelagic and Etruscan barbarism.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson, journal entry, 1845,
The Metaphor of the Melting Pot…
Because of a continuous mass immigration that was a feature of the United States economy and society since the first half of the 19th century, ethnic diversity is common in both rural and urban areas.
The absorption of the stream of immigrants became, in itself, a prominent feature of America's national myth.
The idea of the melting pot is a metaphor that implies that all the immigrant cultures are mixed and amalgamated without state intervention.
The melting pot theory implied that each individual immigrant, and each group of immigrants, assimilated into American society at their own pace.
Today the United States can easily be considered one of the most diverse nations in the world.
Recent estimates show that one in three U.S. residents is a member of an ...
Framers View On Federalism
Essay On Dual Federalism
Essay on Federalism
Federalism Essay
federalism Essay
Federalist Arguments
Federalism Essay
Essay On Federalism
The Impact Of Federalism
Federalism Essay
Essay on Why Framers Chose Federalism
Federalism Essay
Essay about The Evolution of Federalism
Essay on Balanced Federalism
252018 3. Federalism U.S. v. The States, Topic Overview.docxtamicawaysmith
2/5/2018 3. Federalism: U.S. v. The States, Topic Overview
http://www.learner.org/courses/democracyinamerica/dia_3/dia_3_topic.html 1/3
Topic Overview Unit 3
Federalism: U.S. v. the States
Learning Objectives
After completing this session, you will be able to:
Explain how the Constitution distributes power between the national and
state governments.
Describe the various types of federalism.
Explain the changes that have occurred in the federal system in the past 200
years.
Summarize the part played by state governments in the contemporary
federal system.
Discuss the role of grantinaid programs in the American federal system.
Describe the advantages and disadvantages of a federal system.
Unit 3 provides an overview of the workings of federalism in the United States. In
this unit, the complex and changeable relationship between the national and state
governments is explored. By focusing on the conflicts between national and state
powers, the unit develops a deeper understanding of nature of governmental power
in the American system.
Federalism is the division of powers between a central government and regional
governments. Most developed nations experience ongoing struggles over the
relative powers of their central and regional governments. The United States has a
federal system of government where the states and national government exercise
separate powers within their own spheres of authority. Other countries with federal
systems include Canada and Germany. In contrast, national governments in
unitary systems retain all sovereign power over state or regional governments. An
example of a unitary system is France.
The framers of the U.S. Constitution sought to create a federal system that
promotes strong national power in certain spheres, yet recognizes that the states
are sovereign in other spheres. In "Federalist No. 46," James Madison asserted
that the states and national government "are in fact but different agents and
trustees of the people, constituted with different powers." Alexander Hamilton,
writing in "Federalist No. 28," suggested that both levels of government would
exercise authority to the citizens' benefit: "If their [the peoples'] rights are invaded
by either, they can make use of the other as the instrument of redress." However, it
soon became clear that Hamilton and Madison had different ideas about how the
national government should work in practice. Hamilton, along with other
"federalists" including Washington, Adams, and Marshall, sought to implement an
expansive interpretation of national powers at the states' expense. Madison, along
with other "states' rights" advocates including Thomas Jefferson, sought to bolster
state powers.
The U.S. Constitution delegates specific enumerated powers to the national
government (also known as delegated powers), while reserving other powers to
the states (reserved powers). Article VI of the Constitution declares the laws of
the national gov ...
The Constitution is the framework for the governance of th.docxcherry686017
The Constitution is the framework for the governance of the United States. This is a Federal democratic republic - lawmaking by elected representatives, power and sovereignty divided between local and national institutions. The principle elements are a legislature composed of two houses, one directly elected by the people with high frequency, the other selected by the States with low frequency, a limited executive with all the figurehead jobs of a king but few of the actual powers of one, and an independent judiciary appointed for life on good behavior. Rights are explicitly and implicitly protected, but implicit government power is specifically denied. It is a union of States, the legislative structure designed on State lines, Presidential election based on State votes, powers not assigned to the union reserved to the States. The true sovereign is the People, because States are mandated to be republics too.
Our Constitution protects the rights of the individual. From the right to freedom of expression, to the right to bear arms, to the right to due process of law, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights place what is essentially a list of "Thou Shalt Not" placed on the federal government.
And if you look around you at a lot of controversial incidents, you'll see that a lot of people in the government intend to take that right away from us in order to gain power. Our founding fathers were geniuses to come up with this document, knowing full well that there would be power-hungry tyrants trying to do otherwise for the country.
The Constitution gives liberty, and not security. It lets you live freely, but leaves you to take responsibility for your own life. And it gives you the right to pursue happiness, and doesn't allow the government determines who gets to be happy and who doesn't. Those are some of the most common misconceptions about what America is supposed to stand for.
Public policy is an attempt by a government to address a public issue by instituting laws, regulations, decisions, or actions pertinent to the problem at hand. Numerous issues can be addressed by public policy including crime, education, foreign policy, health, and social welfare. While public policies are most common in the United States, several other countries, such as those in the United Kingdom, implement them as well. The process to create a new public policy typically follows three steps: agenda-setting, option-formulation, and implementation; the time-line for a new policy to be put in place can range from weeks to several years, depending on the situation. Public policies can also be made by leaders of religious and cultural institutions for the benefit of the congregation and participants, and the term can also refer to a type of academic study that covers topics such as sociology, economics, and policy analysis.
Citizens of the United States, it is clear, have a great many rights that give them freedoms all peoples hold dear: the freedom to think what they l ...
Essay 4, excellent effort realizing full credit of 10 of 10 possible pts.
1. Introduction to Sociology
Exam 4 Essay Dr. Carlson
The United States of America and the Future
The United States of America was founded on principles that allow its citizens constitutional
inalienable rights. These rights are referenced within the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of
Independence and the United States Constitution; and all of which have been an important
backbone to the structure of the government since the beginning in 1776. Recently, the
government has been changing its policy in many areas which quite a few analysts suggest is
leading the country from a democratic government to a democratic socialistic form of
government. To stress the differences between the two styles of government, definitions of each
are in order. First, democracy means, “a political system in which the people hold the ruling
power either directly or through elected representatives” and democratic socialism means, “an
economic and political system that combines private ownership of some of the means of
production, governmental distribution of some essential goods and services, and free election”
(Kendall, 2008: pg. 692). In fact to support the idea that the government is making the switch,
according to the textbook, Sociology In Our Times, written by Diana Kendall, the United States
is adapting “many of the characteristics of a welfare state (a state that uses extensive government
action to provide support and services to its citizens” (Kendall, 2008: pg. 430). As a result, the
growing government is clearly beginning to fail to adhere to the many founding constitutional
related principles that allow American citizens inalienable rights and freedoms which can be
seen in each of the five primary social institutions including the political system, economic
institution, education, religion and marriage and family institutions.
2. The United States government is leading to democratic socialism and can be seen by the
violation of two constitutional related principles within the political system. According to
Kendall, pg. 697, politics “is the social institution through which power is acquired and exercised
by some people and groups.” To begin, the Principle of Representative Government has become
corrupt as cases have presented themselves as to show that elected officials are willing to receive
money in return for special legislation. Interestingly, an article in the New York Times revealed
that “Although [Robert J.] Congel has sometimes given money to Democrats, he is a major
Republican campaign fundraiser” and despite this fact, Congel “donated $100,000 to former
President Bill Clinton’s foundation in November 2004, around the same time that (Democrat)
Sen. Hillary Clinton helped secure millions of dollars in federal assistance for the businessman’s
mall project” (Carlson, 2009). The violation here is clear; elected officials are not representing
the mass of the people because they have other agendas in mind, which are driven by select
people or groups of people. Along with the Principle of Representative Government shown to
have been violated in the United States political system, the Voting Amendment 26 of the Bill of
Rights, which was adopted in 1791 to protect citizens from “improper” government action, has
also been destabilized (Carlson, 2009). First of all, Amendment 26, 18-year-old suffrage, states
in Section 1 that the rights of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or
older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of
age (Carlson, 2009). Contrary to Amendment 26, the powerful government now requires that
each voter registers to vote and by doing so providing an address of residency. The infringement
here is that those Americans who are homeless have no address and therefore are denied access
to vote. Clearly, American citizens are beginning to lose their freedoms and unalienable rights
3. within the political system as can be seen by the violation of the Principle of Representative
Government and Amendment 26 which allows citizens aged 18 and up to vote.
Along with the political system, the economic institution is affected by two constitutional
related principles that are becoming undermined as the United States government is leading to
democratic socialism. By definition, economy is “the social institution that ensures the
maintenance of society through the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and
services” (Kendall, 2008: pg. 693). The economic institution is increasingly becoming affected
by the rise in governmental policy. As a result, the Principle of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of
[“Personal”] Happiness is about to become abused. For example, to pay for the many programs
in which the citizens have little or no say in, which are set up by the government, President
Obama has “proposed an income-tax increase on higher-income taxpayers which would be
effective 2011” and also “proposed federal estate-tax changes that would be effective in 2010”
(Carlson, 2009). In other words, it is of the obliged sacrifice of the families making more than
$250,000 and those who own their property that will be forced to give up their hard earned
money each year. Along with the violation of the Principle of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of
Happiness, the Principle of Free-Enterprise has been completely violated in recent months under
the Obama administration. Against the Principle of Free-Enterprise, the government gives loans
to private industries such as the automotive company General Motors. Despite this free from
government, Free-Enterprise notion, many companies such as GM, have already received $17.4
Billion. As a result the government has shown no hesitation to become actively involved with the
practices of this private industry by firing GM Chief Executive, Rick Wagoner (Carlson, 2009).
All in all, the two principles Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness and Free-Enterprise are
4. increasingly becoming undermined as the government changes from democratic to democratic
socialism as it feels it is their place to control several aspects of the economic institution.
In accordance with the political system and the economic institution, the educational
institution is undermined by the expansion of government as can be seen by the violation of two
constitutional related principles, which is also characteristic of democratic socialism. According
to Kendall, pg. 693, education is “the social institution responsible for the systematic
transmission of knowledge, skills, and cultural values within a formally organized structure.” To
begin, former President Jefferson focused on a plan which supports public education. As an
illustration, here is a quote from Jefferson, "Education is here placed among the articles of public
care, not that it would be proposed to take its ordinary branches out of the hands of private
enterprise, which manages so much better all the concerns to which it is equal; but a public
institution can alone supply those sciences which, though rarely called for, are yet necessary to
complete the circle, all the parts of which contribute to the improvement of the country, and
some of them to its preservation." --Thomas Jefferson: 6th Annual Message, 1806. ME 3:423”
(Carlson, 2009). The original plan set forth by Jefferson was that government play a minimal
role in education in cases that there are not private enterprises available to citizens. Currently, the
government has gone beyond what originally was set by one of the founders of the United States
and thus, the principle in question is the Principle of Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness. For
example, American citizens are becoming increasingly forced to choose public education as
access to private education has become limited due to governmental policy. For instance,
currently, property taxes fund school districts in order to provide education to all of its children
and one argument is that tax payers should be given the option of receiving a tax credit to use
towards a private institution such as homeschooling. The government does not readily provide
5. this option to its citizens, which illustrates the increase in governmental policy and goes against
Jefferson’s plan that public education should only be a backup and should not limit the
opportunities of private institutions as they can ultimately provide better quality education.
Another violation by the government, as it pertains to the educational institution, is of the Fourth
Amendment in public schools. The Fourth Amendment, “protects citizens [students] from
unreasonable search and seizure and which the government may not conduct any searches
without a warrant, and such warrants must be issued by a judge and based on probable cause”
which has been violated in schools (Carlson, 2009). It is a fact that public schools with lockers
have been known to searches and school officials nationwide have been confiscating personal
items such as cell phones. These examples along with student athletes as subjects to random drug
tests are a complete constitutional defiance of student rights as set forth by the Fourth
Amendment. Overall, the educational institution has increasingly become affected by the overall
growth and control of the United States government and resulting in the limitations that citizens
have from their freedoms and inalienable rights.
The ever expanding government of the United States has been found to have challenged
two constitutional related principles as it relates to the religious institution just as it has in the
political system, economic institution, and educational institution, which leads one to conclude
that it is changing into a democratic socialistic government rather than the intended democratic
form of government. By definition, religion is “a system of beliefs, symbols, and rituals, based
on some sacred or supernatural realm, that guides human behavior, gives meaning to life, and
unites believers into a community” (Kendall, 2008: pg. 697). To begin, the First Amendment
which is the Separation of Church and State, provides that “congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting its free exercise thereof” and is one of the
6. constitutional related principles that have been undermined by the government (Carlson, 2009).
In fact, religious organizations have been given indirect opportunities to avoid restrictions on
how they use their facilities and property. For instance, “the Rocky Mountain Christian Church is
using a new federal law to fight a county decision preventing it from expanding on land
designated for open space” (Carlson, 2009). These loop holes in law directly undercut the
constitutional freedoms of citizens who therein would have preferred that land were open.
Further, there are many other violations of the First Amendment by the United States
government. One example is an incidence that occurred when the Saddleback Church was
granted tax breaks on the argument that their services provides to society. The argument against
what happened with Saddleback is that the Fourth Amendment shall not grant religious
establishments any special laws (Carlson, 2009). As you can see, recently the overriding control
of government continues to disregard the constitutional related principles and in the religious
institution it is the First Amendment that is challenged, which states the separation of church
from governmental policy.
Lastly, the marriage and family institution, along with the political system, economic,
education, and religious institutions, is currently becoming affected by the potential undermining
by the government, of two constitutional related principles leading to democratic socialism. To
understand the marriage and family institution, definitions of each are in order. First, marriage is
“a legally recognized and/or socially approved arrangement between two or more individuals
that carries certain rights and obligations and usually involves sexual activity” and families are
“relationships in which people live together with commitment, form an economic unit and care
for any young, and consider their identity to be significantly attached to the group” (Kendall,
2008: pgs 693 & 695). A constitutional right granted to families has recently been called into
7. question. The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United
States Bill of Rights that protects the right to keep and bear arms. This relates to the marriage
and family institution because it gives families the opportunity to protect themselves from
danger if the need arises in their own homes. Recently, in the interpretations section of the
Wall Street Journal, there has been notice of a debate on whether or not having firearms is
constitutional. As well, there has been a case in the United States in which a man was sent
to jail because he shot and killed an intruder in his own home (Carlson, 2009). The Second
Amendment is clear, and any competent person who can read will realize that this ban is
outright unconstitutional. If this ban were passed, this only proves that the government has
the power to control every aspect of Americans lives. Another constitutional related principle
under question is The Parental Rights Amendment to the Constitution which gives parents the
fundamental right to direct the upbringing and education of their children. Strictly abandoning
this notion, the Convention on the Rights of the Child states, “the best interest of the child
principle would give the government the ability to override every decision made by every parent
if a government worker disagreed with the parent’s decision” (Carlson, 2009). The idea that
possibly the courts will have the final say and that American parents will be stripped of their
right to raise their child is a clear cut example of how the United States government is increasing
its role in the citizens lives and by beginning to socialization of children. Lastly, if this treaty
creates this law, democracy as we know it will plunge in all social institutions of America.
Overall, the marriage and family institution has been brought into light as the government
continues to expand in power and currently within government there are parties who are trying to
control firearms and aspects of parental rights, which if passed, clearly violates the Second
Amendment Right to Bear Arms and the Parental Rights Amendment of the Bill of Rights.
8. Ultimately, the citizens of the United States are forced to alter the way in which they
interact within the five primary social institutions (i.e., political system, economic institution,
education, religion and marriage and family). First of all, American citizens are beginning to lose
their freedoms and unalienable rights within the political system as can be seen by the violation
of the Principle of Representative Government and Amendment 26 which allows citizens aged
18 and up to vote. Secondly, the two principles Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness and
Free-Enterprise are increasingly becoming undermined as the government feels it is their place to
control several aspects of the economic institution. As well, recently the overriding control of
government continues to disregard the constitutional related principles and in the religious
institution it is the First Amendment that is undermined, which states the separation of church
from governmental policy. Lastly, the marriage and family institution has been brought into light
as the government continues to expand in power and currently within government there are
parties who are trying to control firearms and aspects of parental rights, and if passed, clearly
violates the Second Amendment Right to Bear Arms and the Parental Rights Amendment of the
Bill of Rights. All in all, the United States government has been moving in a direction that
supports the idea that it is changing from a democratic to a democratic socialistic government as
it continues to loosely adhere to the constitutional related principles set forth by the founding
fathers.
9. REFERENCES
Kendall, Diana. 2008. Sociology in Our Times (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.
Unpublished documents of John R. Carlson. 2009. Cited with permission from author, Edison
State College, Introduction to Sociology Class, Spring term, 2009.