POLS 220
BERCH
SPRING 2014
FINAL EXAM REVIEW
Hi, everyone! The final exam
for this class will be held in our regular room on Monday, April 28, from 8 am
to 10 am. It will be closed-book and comprehensive. All you need to
bring is a pen and photo ID. The exam will cover all material from the
semester including lectures, blog posts and linked readings, and the comments
of your colleagues. Material will be fairly evenly distributed from
throughout the semester, except that material covered since exam #3 is more
likely to appear on the exam. The format will be similar to that of the
quizzes. Specifically, there will be five "short essay"
sections, and two true-false sections (each with 5 questions). You
will answer 4 sections (you may answer 4 short essay sections OR 3 short essay
sections plus one true-false section OR 2 short essay sections plus
both true-false sections. Each section is worth 5 points.
Besides going over this review sheet and reviewing the material (and I urge to understand rather than memorize), you will have a number of opportunities to ask questions:
1. You may email me at the address on the syllabus (berchnorto@msn.com).
2. You may ask questions in the form of comments on this blog post. I will reply to those questions on the blog, until 8:00 pm on April 27 (same for emailed questions).
3. We will have an in-class review on April 21.
4. I will have regular office hours on April 21 and April 23.
Besides going over this review sheet and reviewing the material (and I urge to understand rather than memorize), you will have a number of opportunities to ask questions:
1. You may email me at the address on the syllabus (berchnorto@msn.com).
2. You may ask questions in the form of comments on this blog post. I will reply to those questions on the blog, until 8:00 pm on April 27 (same for emailed questions).
3. We will have an in-class review on April 21.
4. I will have regular office hours on April 21 and April 23.
Material you should understand includes:
1. How political scientists explain differences between states and why they use states as a laboratory.
2. The three types of political culture.
3. The origins of federalism, including the choices the constitution writers faced.
4. The major events in the history of federalism, including court cases, amendments, etc.
5. Fiscal federalism, including types of grants, the role of conditions of aid, the changes made by Ronald Reagan, and why some states get more federal aid than others.
6. The general trends toward greater national control and marble cake federalism.
7. The role of regional bodies.
8. Dillon's Rule and Home Rule.
9. How interest groups are affected by the free rider problem, and why some interest groups are more likely to form than are others.
10. The reasons for the decline of political parties in the states.
11. The difficulties facing third parties and why they are sometimes able to overcome them.
12. Why some states have higher voter turnout than do others, and the ways in which states might try to raise turnout (including the article you read on incentives).
13. How the legislature has become more professionalized.
14. The role of committees in the legislature.
15. The role of norms in the legislature.
16. Cue voting.
17. The types of representation voters expect from legislators.
18. Gerrymandering, including when it is legal and when it is illegal.
19. The increasing power and competence of governors.
20. The line item veto, including its variations, arguments for and against it, and whether it works in the states.
21. Why governors have a harder time getting reelected than do other officials.
22. The reasons for the growth of bureaucracy.
23. The general characteristics of bureaucracy.
24. The problems and good points with bureaucracy.
25. The ways in which elected officials control bureaucracy.
26. The different methods for choosing judges, including their advantages and disadvantages.
27. The different structures for local government, including their advantages and disadvantages.
28. The difference between progressive, proportional, and regressive taxes, including which taxes fall into which categories, and why some states have less regressive tax systems than do others.
Ask questions, study hard, and
good luck!.--NB
The different between progressive.proportional,and regressive is in progressive tax when your income goes up your taxes will go up too, in propotional it stay equal, in regressive when your income goes up ur taxes goes down?
ReplyDelete1-federal tax is a progressive income tax what makes it progressive but its not as progressive as it is because tax breaker makes it less progressive 2-Fica is for people under 40 thousand and who have social securrity this look like proportional but its not bc its earnincome and and there is social securty income so its regressive 3-Federal excise taxes this is sale taxes like alcohol tobacco this sounds propotional tax but it turnout regressive 4-state tax this is different between state in WV somewhat progressive but not it used to be 5- state sales tax this is regressive but it cant be regressive everyone pays same but this is your sale tax not your income tax 6-state and local property are regressive this is about your property value 7- state excise taxes are regressive the different here you can tell which state you are in. i couldnt find why some state are less regressive than others? Is this right
Ms. Pettyjohn's answer to the last part of your question is excellent. As for the rest, the FICA tax is not just on people who make less than $40,000. It is, however, the largest tax on people who make less than $40,000. The other reason it's regressive (besides the fact that it's only on earned income) is because after about $108,000, the Social Security portion of the tax is phased out (and that's the largest portion of the tax). 4, Refers to state INCOME taxes. There are different systems in different states (and some states that don't have one). 5. Sales tax is regressive because the poor SPEND all of their income (and are thus taxed on most of their income through sales tax) but the rich save a lot (and aren't subject to a sales tax on the part they save). 6. See the lecture notes for multiple reasons why property tax is regressive.
DeleteDo any of the taxes we covered in class fall under the proportional tax?
DeleteI answered this question about an hour ago for someone else, but it doesn't appear to be here (and my email log for the blog doesn't show it). There is no tax that is exactly proportional. The one that comes closest is the Pennsylvania income tax, which is 3.07% on virtually all income. However, the poor have some of their tax reduced in "tax forgiveness", and the wealthy have some of their income excluded from taxation due to the fact that the federal government doesn't let states tax interest on US Treasury bonds, notes, and bills.
Delete5 main factors influence why some state are less regressive than others:
ReplyDelete1.) History: Whether or not a state starts out with a sales tax, income tax, etc. will influence how regressive or progressive its tax system is.
2.) Income: Wealthier states tend to have more progressive taxes.
3.) Interest groups: The greater the power of labor interest groups, the more progressive the taxes will be.
4.) Parties: The party that controls the governorship greatly influences the tax code. Democratic= more progressive, Republican= more regressive.
5.) Brackets: The more brackets a state's income tax system has, the more progressive it will be because they can adjust along with inflation.
Does anyone know which set of lecture notes question 27 on the study guide is from: "The different structures for local government, including their advantages and disadvantages."/ or what the answer is?
ReplyDeleteIt's on the yellow sheet of "Bureaucracy" notes. (second page)
DeleteThank you (:
DeleteCould somebody explain Dillion's Rule and Home Rule?
ReplyDeleteLiz,
DeleteOn the Exam 1 Review under the very first comment you'll see Mr. Berch's relation between the two. Hope that helps!
Dillon's Rule is when a state can grant power to a local government whenever they wish, but they can also take that power away at any time they wish.
DeleteHome Rule protects local governments from the bigger state government. Home Rule allows for cities to govern themselves, but they have to first get approval from the state legislature. After they get approval the state is not allowed to take away that power, unless in the case of a state emergency.
This was my interpretation from what Dr. Berch talked about in class, but you may want to wait for him to clarify.
Mr. Wycoff's explanation is perfect. Home Rule is a way around Dillon's Rule.
DeleteHow political scienttist explain different between state and why they use states as a laboratory ? i couldnt get this is there anyone can explain it pls
ReplyDeleteThey use states as a laboratory for testing general propositions about politics and policy, because they can't do actual experiments. The states are pretty similar, so we use that natural experimental environment (most things are held constant) to see whether particular differences lead to other differences (like, does party control of the governorship affect tax incidence?).
DeleteI miss this whats mean policy representation?
ReplyDeleteIt's one of the four forms of representation that voters expect from legislators. It means voting the way that the voter would vote if they were in the legislature. This is often hard for voters to evaluate because they don't know who their legislators are, much less how they voted on particular bills.
Delete1. can anyone tell me the general trend towards greater national control and marble cake federalism?
ReplyDelete2. how the legislature has become more professionalized?
3. the ways in which elected officials control bureaucracy?
4. the different methods for choosing judges?
5. the different structures for local government?
That's lot of ground to cover (about 4 full lectures). I would suggest starting out with the lecture notes (for example, the first set of lecture notes lists about 8 different events that increased the power of the national government) and blog assignments (for instance, #6 on how to choose judges). After you've read through that, maybe you'll have fewer and more specific questions.
DeleteCould someone better explain the following subjects?
ReplyDelete-cue voting
-the different methods for choosing judges
-marble cake federalism and the trends towards greater national control
-why states are used as a laboratory and the differences between states according to political scientists
Methods for choosing judges: look at lecture notes and blog assignment #6. States as laboratory answer above (Mustafa Boz's question). On federalism, as indicated above, there are about 8 specific events that increased power of national government covered in first set of lecture notes. Please review lecture notes, blog assignments, and question and answer blogs for previous exams (I believe I explained cue voting in one of those), and then ask specific questions.--NB
DeleteCue voting is based on the concept that legislatures do not have enough time in their day to read the hundreds of documents that they are instructed to vote on. So for example, If a Republican legislature, who is also a lawyer is voting on an economic bill, that Republican is likely to vote similar to another Republican who happens to be businessman. Its like taking a "cue" from someone who is more knowlegable in that specific area. They do this because they cant read everything and if they vote for a bill by one of their collegues then it is liekly that their collegue will return the favor and vote for their legal bill down the road.
DeleteWhat type of taxes fall under the category of proportional taxes?
ReplyDeleteSee answer to TJ Arbaugh's question above.
DeleteCould someone help me with questions 26-28, please?
ReplyDeleteAs we discussed in my office, a good starting point for the judicial selection question is blog assignment #6 (as well as lecture notes for that and the other 2 questions).
DeleteGoing to start, as appropriate, answering questions that haven't been addressed by your colleagues. I will post a final set of answers this evening after the question period closes.--NB
ReplyDeletehey, can someone elaborate more on the three types of political cultures and which has the highest voter turnout and the one with the most corruption. it was an exam 1 question. thanks
ReplyDeleteIndividualistic-participate in politics for your own personal gain it is the most corrupt. most likely to occur in big cities
DeleteMoralistic-people participate to further the public good, people are expected to participate in politics and corruption is not tolerated. it's found in colder places like Maine.
Traditionalistic- politics is about maintaining what went on before you, people are discouraged from participating, handed down from family to family. Mostly southern states
Thank you!!!!
DeleteCan someone explain why some interest groups are more likely to form than others?
ReplyDeletethinking rationally may cause them from joining an interest group thus not all interest groups are formed. also known as the free rider group.
DeleteGood answer, but it's free rider problem
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletePlease see the answer to Mustafa Boz's question above.--NB
ReplyDeletewhat's the general trends toward greater national control?
ReplyDeleteAgain, if you look at lecture notes #1, you will find about 8 different events listed, each of which is part of the trend toward greater national government control.
Deletewhat are the general trends toward greater national control & marble cake federalism?
ReplyDeleteSee above (and lecture notes #1) on move toward national government control. As for marble cake federalism, there has been a shift from layer cake (or dual) federalism to marble cake (or cooperative federalism). Instead of each issue area (like education) being decided by a separate level (national, state, local) of government, multiple levels tend to be involved in different facets of the same issue.
DeleteWhat are the reasons for the decline of political parties in the states?
ReplyDeletePlease see multiple questions and answers on this in review for exam #2.
DeleteCould someone explain briefly the Four structures in local Gov, 1. Council-Mayor (Strong) 2. Council mayor (weak) 3. Commision 4. Council-manager, please?
ReplyDeleteHave you tried starting with the lecture notes? If you have a specific question, I'd be happy to answer.
DeleteWhat is the overall tax incidence?
ReplyDeleteTax incidence refers to the concept of who (which economic class) pays how much in taxes. We had an extended discussion (over two lectures) of the incidence of different taxes, and then of the overall incidence of federal and state and local taxes. We concluded that federal taxes were somewhat progressive, but state taxes ranged from almost proportional to highly regressive, depending upon state. Overall tax incidence (combining federal, state, and local taxes) averages out to barely progressive, but it (again depends upon which state you live in). See the last set of lecture notes for more details.
DeleteCould someone please explain the Reason for rise of Bureaucracy, General Characteristics of Bureaucracy, problems with Bureaucracy and good points?
ReplyDeleteYou should perhaps start by consulting the lecture notes (available online here) on that topic, as well as review questions and answers from the review for exam #1. This material (like that of some other questions you've asked) is more than a full lecture.
DeleteIt was worth a try, see you in the AM!
DeleteThe way in which elected official control bureaucracy? is this because of the job security?
ReplyDeleteNo, there's a section near the end of the outline on bureaucracy that talks about budget control, governor's appointment power, oversight power, and sunset laws.
DeleteWhy do political Scientists use states as a lab?
ReplyDeletePlease (again) see answer to Mustafa Boz's similar question above.
DeleteWhy is voter turnout higher in some states more than others? and why are parties declining in states?
ReplyDeleteThe latter of those questions is addressed in the review for exam #2 (see the comments). The former (again a full lecture) can be addressed in the lecture notes which list about 7-8 reasons (including party competition, ease of voter turnout, ease of registration, education, the West Coast effect, etc.).
Delete