Government and Politics

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Course: Government and Politics
California State University, San Marcos
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PART 1: SHORT ANSWER
1) Explain the paradox of voting. What is paradoxical or puzzling about individuals’ decisions to cast a ballot?
What accounts for the fact that some individuals ultimately do vote, overcoming the paradox, while others do not?
The paradox of voting postulates that a single vote would have negligible effect on the national voting outcome. Furthermore, the costs of voting for a rational voter typically exceeds the benefits as voting exercise have numerous inconveniences. Some people vote when there are penalties for non-participation in voting, while others simply want to exercise their democratic right and elect people of their choice.
2) What is socioeconomic status (SES)? What are identifiable components of SES? What is the relationship between SES and political participation in the United States? Is the relationship between SES and participation generally different in other democracies?
The SES represents the social class of a person, and includes measures like level of education, occupation, wealth, residence and income levels. There is a relationship between SES and voting in the US, as more educated people make informed choices and are more likely to vote. Similar to other democracies more affluent people are likely to vote than those in lower social status because of better civic knowledge.
3) Discuss the economic theories put forward by John Maynard Keynes and Friedrich Hayek. What are some of each thinker’s major economic insights? How do they differ from one another? How does each understand the relationship between government and the economy? Finally, discuss at least two reasons why you find one more Compelling than the other.
Keynesian economics supported the view that the government should expand its role in economic activities by borrowing money to spend and through use of fiscal policies, and this would reduce unemployment and improve on consumer spending. Friedrich Hayek challenged Keynesian economic theories because central planning of economies did not take into account rational decision making. Minimal government intervention facilitated making rational economic choices and efficiency in the economy.
4) What is rent seeking and how does it fit into Stiglitz argument about inequality in US? Be sure to define rent seeking and discuss some of the examples that Stiglitz uses. In addition, how does rent seeking differ from entrepreneurialism?
Rent seeking relates to the actions taken to benefit from economic rent especially through political means and lobbying, and the actions taken could result in policies that favor them or reduce competition with rivals. Stiglitz cautions that rent seeking cause rising inequality in America, because people who benefit from good economic performance are the ones making less contrition towards the growth. He uses the analogy of predatory lending practices by credit card companies, and use of the bankruptcy law to claim protection when dealing with sophisticated financial instruments like in the 2008 - financial crisis. Rent seeking differs from entrepreneurialism, as there is no resource allocation between productive and unproductive activities.
PART 2: ESSAYS
Medicaid as a social and an economic policy
Introduction
Medicaid has long been accepted as a social policy in America, but there are controversies on the policy and its impact on economic well being of recipients. Furthermore, arguments in favor and against expansion of the program are framed on conservative and liberal viewpoints. Medicaid is an assistance program to lower income people the US, where the federal local and states cater for the medical bills of patients. The idea behind this program is that it would alleviate poverty among the poor people by reducing necessary health care costs. Nonetheless, the guidelines on how to apply Medicaid are different among the states, to the extent that the type of medical coverage also varies among states. This paper will highlight on the pros and cons of Medicaid from conservative and liberal perspectives.
Conservative vs. liberal perspectives on Medicaid
Conservatives typically hold a negative view on Medicaid, as it is a government funded program and they support less government intervention ion the market place. However, states now have the option of introducing the private option where insurance can be an n option with less government intervention. This has improved enthusiasm of increased Medicaid expansion even among conservative legislators, who felt that Medicaid was a distortion of the market forces. The private option is a game changer towards the acceptability of medical and other social welfare program s meant to subsidize costs for poor people. Nonetheless, it remains to be seen whether there will be wide acceptability of Medicaid among conservative skeptics, who state that acceptance of the program is tantamount to consenting to Obamacare.
To liberals the Medicaid program is necessary to improve the social welfare of the poor people in America. At the center of this argument is that there is a need for social protection for the vulnerable, poor people live in a cycle of poverty which a manifestation of the market system. Consequently, liberals support the view that Medicaid should be expanded to cover more people who struggle economically. In other words, subsidizing health care costs through affordable insurance programs would enable the poor people to be at par with other Americans on health care access. Furthermore, liberals view access to health care as a right to every citizen, and this is achievable with government intervention through Medicaid and other social welfare programs.
Conservatives argue that the drawbacks of government run health care programs are many as there is market distortion. Even though, liberals stat...