AP US Gov -- Study Thread

[shayonsaleh]

A) The government needs to maintain its size of government to cope with increasing problems that face the nation. For example, as the population grows, more people send mail, requiring the need to hire more postal workers.
B) A large government results in a lot of waste and red tape. Stringent measures must be passed to do anything, and many people or agencies do the same job or are in conflict.
C) To reduce red tape, the government has begun to privatize some of its responsibilities and rely more on free market competition for the goods it buys. Many federal responsibilities are being handed down to states in a form of devolution. This effectively reduces the size of governments in the federal government. However, this maintains or even increases the size of state and local governments.
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Did I get those? It was a good question, but I was kind of grasping at a few moments there.

Next:

a) Define monetary policy.
b) Name two ways in which the Federal Reserve Board implements monetary policy.
c) Define fiscal policy.
d) Define Keynesianism and Supply-Side Theory and explain how they contrast.
e) Name a president that supported keynesianism and a president that supported supply-side theory economics.

[AmoreHyde]

A) Monetary policy is a central bank's changing of the money supply to influence interest rates and assist the economy in achieving stability, full employment, and growth!
B) Change the reserve ratio or open market operations (buying or selling bonds/securities).
C) Fiscal policy are the changes in gov't spending and tax collections designed to achieve full employment and noninflationary domestic output!
1D) Keynesian economics is a theory that a capitalistic economy is characterized by macroeconomic instability and that monetary and fiscal policy can be used to promote full employment, price-level stability, and economic growth.
2D) Supply-side economics is a a view in macroeconomics that emphasizes the role of cost and aggregate supply in explaining inflation, unemployment, and economic growth. Also, that incentives (like tax cuts)can be used for people to produce and use resources more efficiently.
3D) Keynesian believes that growth can be managed by controlling demands for goods and services while Supply-side believes that producers and their willingness to create goods and services set the pace of economic growth.
1E) FDR
2E) Ronald Reagan
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I like the idea of studying for both of my exams at once! Here are some example answers to my previous question:
A) From welfare to social security, bureaucracies play a big role in delivering these services to the American people.. stuff like the scrutiny of harmful products by the FTC and FDA are important safeguards.
B) If we want a balanced federal budget and deficit reduction, programs must be eliminated and agencies downsized/abolished.
C) The Clinton-Gore Reinventing Government program or the Republican Regulatory Reduction bill..
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a. Define balanced budget
b. Define federal entitlements
c. Identify an entitlement and explain how entitlements are a barrier to the federal gov't achieving a balanced budget
d. Describe the consequences of large deficits

[raller]

2B) Sherman Silver Purchase Act and Panic of 1893? (had a hard time finding one)

I would make more references to the serious problems faced by farmers, which led to an alliance between the agrarian south and west. The McKinley Tariff of 1890 is an important example of an act that helped make the Northeast and the Midwest a solid Republican voting block.

[blackjunker]

this sucks. my sister persuaded me to take the exam without taking the course. i feel like im 3 material but if i put up some strong essays i think i can pull off a 4. and does anyone know if the practice tests for princeton review are harder than the actual exam?

but my question is if anyone knows where to find all the important organizations(AARP, NRA etc.)

[bballpg04]

A. A balanced budget is when the total revenues for the government equals the total expenditures. Hence there is no deficit resulting from excess spending.
B. Entitlements are programs such as Social Security and Medicare in which everyone who is eligible receives the benefits.
C. Social Security is an entitlement, and entitlement programs are the greatest source of uncontrollable spending for the federal government. More money goes into SS than defense, education, or interest on national debt. In addition, entitlement programs are difficult to cut because those who receive benefits feel very strongly about retaining the program. For example, even mentioning cutting SS benefits is considered "political suicide" because of the large voting bloc of the elderly.
D. Large deficits hinder the ability of the government to spend on important issues such as education.
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Is Congress effective in exercising legislative oversight of the federal bureaucracy? Support your answer by:
a. Explain two specific methods Congress uses to exercise effective oversight of the federal bureaucracy.
b. Give two specific explanations for the failure of Congress to exercise effective oversight of the federal bureaucracy

[raller]

this sucks. my sister persuaded me to take the exam without taking the course. i feel like im 3 material but if i put up some strong essays i think i can pull off a 4. and does anyone know if the practice tests for princeton review are harder than the actual exam?

Check out AP central for examples of the actual essay questions for the test and you should be able to judge reasonably well how well the PR questions correspond to the actual test.

[anisha08]

Is anyone up for an AP US Gov AIM chatroom (the AP Bio chatroom last year was pretty interesting and sortof helpful)?

[blackjunker]

im up for it

but what does the three part test of the lemon vs. kurtzman case include. and name an example of when this test was used

[raller]

Is anyone up for an AP US Gov AIM chatroom (the AP Bio chatroom last year was pretty interesting and sortof helpful)?

Sounds good.

[anisha08]

Okay, I set one up.

Chatroom ID is APUSGov.

[snipez90]

I can't make the chat atm, but let's see if I recall this.

@blackjunker, Lemon v Kurtzman test (lemon test):
1. does there exist a secular purpose?
2. the establishment does not encourage or hinder religion
3. the establishment does not excessively tangle government and religion

hmm, ok I guess it is in reference to legislation/government action in general.

[blackjunker]

how do you get to the chatroom

sorry im new

[anisha08]

If you have trouble getting to the chatroom, PM me with your AIM screenname and I can invite you.

[anisha08]

Haha I might not be awake then (10AM pacific).

Would you like to have the honor of opening up the chatroom, then?

The Chat ID I used is APUSGov.

[rgal]

how do you get onto the chatroom again?