American Attitudes About Government and Politics

● American Attitudes About Government and Politics → Political ideology - The idea that people have a consistent value and belief about the purpose and scope of government Three main ideologies → Conservative - Favor traditional American values, respect for authority, law, and order, and National Defense - Rule of law - Strong crime and punishment - Strong military - Individualism - Personal responsibility → Liberal (progressive) - Favor an active government role in the economy and promote equality - More freedom for the individual - Promoting minority rights - More things designed to help the poor or those in need like welfare - Favor more social, individual, personal freedom and liberty → Libertarian - Favor limited government, promotes individual freedom that should only be limited when it impedes on another person’s rights - They want as much freedom as possible (personal choices and economics) - Favor low taxes - They want a government that’s just involved in property rights, etc. → American political culture - The distinctive way Americans think about politics and government - What most Americans agree on Core values → Individualism (Conservatives and Libertarians) - The idea that people are responsible for themselves - Whether a person succeeds or not is determined by their own efforts → Equality of opportunity - Not of outcome → Rule of law - The idea that everyone is subject to the law - No one is above the law → Limited government - The government doesn’t have total power, it’s limited by the Constitution → Free enterprise system - The idea that people should have the right to buy and sell what they want, and control their business ● Political Socialization → Political Socialization - The method by which people acquire their political ideologies and beliefs → Sources of Political Socialization - Family/parents - School/Education - Peers - Media - Religion → Globalization - It’s spread American culture and values throughout the world - Foreign values have influenced American political thought ● Changes in Ideology → Lifecycle effects - The variety of physical, social, and psychological changes people go through as they age - People focus on different political issues at different points in life - Old and young people have different political ideologies → Generational effects - Focuses on changes in ideology between different generations There are different voting patterns and political beliefs between them Younger generations are typically more liberal than older generations ● Influence of Political Events on Ideology - Major political events can influence an individual’s political ideologies for life → Impressionable age hypothesis - The idea is that whenever a person is around 14-24 years old, anything that’s happened to them or in the country during that time leaves a lasting impression and impacts their political ideology for the rest of their life - For Millennials: 9/11, the financial crash in 2008 - For Gen Z: the Trump presidency ● Measuring Public Opinion → Public opinion poll - Surveys of citizens that get their opinion on a certain subject - They take a sample of the population → Tracking poll - Tracks the daily rise or fall in support for a candidate or politician → Benchmark poll - A poll that a candidate that’s thinking of running for public office - They can gage their support before they start campaigning → Entrance/exit polls - Taken on the day of the election - It asks people who they voted for or who they are about to vote for - It’s used to predict election results, gain insight into voter behavior, and analyze how various demographic groups voted → Focus group - A small group of people gather to discuss issues or candidates - It allows for deeper insight on a particular topic → Factors affecting polling results - The wording of the question Respondents' knowledge of the topic The answer choices The timing of the poll (opinions aren’t stable) What makes a poll valid scientifically? - Random sampling: Every single person in the population (the entire group that the sample is being taken from) has an equal chance of being selected for the poll - Stratified sample: The sample is going to be broken up into different demographic categories to ensure that the sample reflects the population as a whole - Sample size: In the US, it’s around 1000-1500 people You didn’t ask everyone so it can lead to: - Sampling error: A polling error that occurs because not everyone in the population was asked - Margin of error: ±3; the percent of result that could be the result of chance variation ● Evaluating Public Opinion Data - Polls could create a bandwagon effect where people’s opinions are influenced by what they see in the polls Politicians using polls to: - Help with campaign strategy - Tweak positions on issues - More likely to support or oppose policies depending on the data - Identify which issues are more important to the people - Determine the level of support a particular policy has Can we trust polling data? - If it’s scientifically valid because it has random sampling, a stratified sample, and an adequate sample size, then it is reliable - If the results aren’t consistent or reliable, then there’s something wrong with the poll - Reliability: it’s sustainable and repeatable - Veracity: it’s accurate and correct Modern challenges for pollsters - Traditionally, people were contacted using landlines - It’s harder to reach certain people, especially younger people ● Ideologies of Political Parties → Parties and Ideology - Libertarians are the group without a political party to call their own - Liberals are mostly found in the Democratic party - Conservatives are mostly found in the Republican party (They are not interchangeable) → Democratic party platform - Decrease defense spending - Increase spending on public schools, and oppose support vouchers for private schools - Increase social welfare programs - Target tax cuts to lower and middle class, and increase taxes on wealthier Americans - Support gun control - Pro-choice - Support environmental regulations → Republican party platform - More conservative - Increase defense spending - Decrease money spent on social welfare programs - Decrease money spent on public schools, and increase access to vouchers for private schools - Favor tax cuts - Oppose gun regulations - Pro-life - Oppose environmental regulations ● Ideology and Policy Making - How political ideologies have affected policy-making at different times One party or the other that was more liberal or more conservative had won the election → FDR’s New Deal - Democratic President - His actions were more liberal in nature - Social security and more economic regulations came from this era → LBJ Great Society - Democratic President - Medicare and Medicaid - An expansion of the federal government’s role in public education → The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 (The Welfare Reform Act) - Conservative - It reformed welfare - Limited the amount of time a person could receive welfare - Required that the person obtains or seeks a job, or at least some kind of education → George Bush - Republican President - Patriot Act - The War on Terror and the War on Iraq → Obama - Democratic President - The Affordable Care Act - Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act - DACA: deferring action on children of people who arrive in the US illegally ● Ideology and Economics → Liberal economic ideology - Support for higher taxes for the rich - Increased government spending to promote social and economic quality - Increased government regulation the government - Environmental issues - Favor social programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid → Conservative economic ideology - Fewer regulations of the marketplace - Lower taxes for the middle class and higher income - Decreased spending on the poor and elderly - Don’t favor government spending to promote social and economic equality → Libertarian economic ideology - Little or no government regulations beyond the protection of property rights - Minimal taxation - The role of government should be limited to protecting liberty and property rights → Fiscal policy: government tax and spending policies → Keynesian economics - When the economy isn’t doing too well, the federal government should jump in and spend money to increase economic activity - Deficit spending is okay - It’s okay if the government has to borrow money to do this - Typically favored by Democrats → Supply-side economics - They agree that there is a role for government when the economy isn’t doing well, but instead of the government spending money, they favor cutting taxes to encourage businesses to grow - Okay with deficits caused by tax cuts - Typically favored by Republicans → Libertarians believe that both of these will increase the national debt, and lead to higher government deficits which could have long-term impacts economically. They oppose both of these → Monetary policy - It’s intended to control the money supply and interest rates - It handles things like inflation, the value of the dollar, etc. - It depends heavily on the money supply and interest rates - It’s done by the Federal Reserve (an independent regulatory commission) - To fight inflation: The Federal Reserve would decrease the money supply and raise interest rates - To fight unemployment: The Federal Reserve would increase the money supply and lower interest rates ● Ideology and Social Policy → Liberal social ideology - Favor less defense spending - More focused on protecting the rights of the accused - Believe the government should not regulate private, personal matters - Support active government role in the public education - Favor total separation of church and state in schools - Oppose vouchers, especially those that can be used to attend religious schools - Favor social liberty → Conservative social ideology - Favor more defense spending - More focused on punishing crime; increase police presence - The government should protect traditional values even if it intrudes on individual freedom - Favor less of a role for federal government in public education - Support vouchers to attend public schools, including religious schools - Less concerned with establishment clause issues in public schools - Favor social order - Pro-life → Libertarian social ideology - Favor maximum freedom - Favor a dramatic reduction of defense spending - Support decriminalization of “victimless” crimes, and protecting the rights of the accused - The government should not regulate private, personal matters - Favor privatization of schools - Favor maximum possible social liberty - In economic issues, liberals favor more government presence while conservatives favor less government presence - In social issues, liberals favor less government presence while conservatives favor more government presence