Changes

== Public Policy and Everything Else ==

== Public Policy and Everything Else ==

After the Constitution and the major institutions of the federal government, what is left to this course?  Political parties, interest groups, the media, and public opinion (as demonstrated by polling).

In addition to the U.S. Constitution and functions of the three branches of the federal government, what is left to this course?  Political parties, interest groups, the media, and public opinion (as illustrated by polling).

The president has influence partly because of his authority granted by the Constitution, and partly because the media finds it easier report on him rather than on thousands of items of local news.  Because of the media's attention to the president, he has a “bully pulpit.”  When the president says something, the media are more likely to repeat it than when others say something.  But a president cannot speak freely for the same reason, and most of what a president says is "politically correct" rather than honest or insightful.

The president has influence partly because of the authority granted to him by the Constitution, and partly because the media finds it easier report on him rather than on thousands of items of local news.  Because of the media's attention to the president, he has a “bully pulpit.”  When the president says something, the media are more likely to repeat it than when others say something.  But a president for the same reason, a president almost never speaks freely about any controversial issue. Most of what a president says is "politically correct" rather than honest or insightful.  President Obama reads from a teleprompter that tells him what to say, and it is as bland and uncontroversial as the print on the back of a cereal box.

To others, the president is just another bit player in a system that has grown far bigger than anyone can control.  We now live in the “regulatory state,” where massive regulations govern most aspects of our lives.  Inevitably government grows larger and the regulations become more complex.  Under this theory about government, there is nothing the president or anyone else can do about it, except perhaps slow the growth a bit.

Some view the president as just another bit player in a system that has grown far bigger than anyone can control.  We now live in the “regulatory state,” where massive regulations govern most aspects of our lives.  Inevitably government grows larger and the regulations become more complex.  Under this characterization of government, there is nothing the president or anyone else can do about it, except perhaps slow the growth a bit.

Despite how much the federal government has grown, much remains unregulated in American life.  We do not have racial quotas in business, though there is affirmative action to encourage greater participation by minorities in institutions like colleges and large corporations.  We do not have "comparable worth" by which the government would set wages for male and female-dominated occupations.  We do not have the 14th Amendment applying to purely private activities, like the Boy Scouts.  Struggles continue on both sides of these and other controversies.  America remains by far the most free major country in the world.

Despite how much the federal government has grown, much remains unregulated in American life.  We do not have racial quotas in business, though there is affirmative action to encourage greater participation by minorities in institutions like colleges and large corporations.  We do not have "comparable worth" by which the government would set equal wages for men and women.  We do not have the 14th Amendment applying to purely private activities, like the Boy Scouts.  Struggles continue on both sides of these and other controversies, but America remains by far the most free major country in the world.

== For Honors Students: Direct and Indirect Taxes ==

== For Honors Students: Direct and Indirect Taxes ==