Reference no: EM132317599

You must write responses to TWO of the following THREE essay prompts for your final exam.

For all answers: Your answers are arguments, and your task is to convince us that you have the right answer to the question. In answering each question, you will need to consider who are the relevant actors, what are their interests, and how does the institutional structure of American politics affect policy outcomes.

Immigration

Thompson discusses the "doom loop of liberalism" as involving anti-immigrant attitudes, low birth rates, and the welfare state. Summarize Thompson's argument about how these three factors comprise the doom loop of liberalism. Make sure to explain how the factors relate to each other. Now imagine you are tasked with enacting a policy or policies designed to address the Doom Loop and that your policy needs sufficient political support to become a law in the United States. What policy (or policies) would you propose to address this problem and why do you think it might be a good policy? What are the primary political obstacles to the legislation? How might you design legislation to overcome them?

Poverty & Inequality

Poverty affects many Americans and income inequality in the United States is high and income mobility is also quite low compared to other countries. Using the information from the readings and videos about poverty, housing, and inequality, offer an explanation for why these issues are largely ignored in U.S. politics. In other words, why don't politicians make poverty/inequality reduction a major issue, and why don't U.S. voters advocate for more attention to this issue? In your answer, you should consider what is known about how voters and interest groups in the United States influence policy.

Institutional Change

Voters in the United States express low levels of satisfaction with the federal government and with the U.S. Congress in particular. A variety of institutional reforms have been proposed to improve voters' satisfaction with Congress. Three such reforms include: public financing of campaigns, terms limits for members of Congress, and independent redistricting commissions that draw Congressional boundaries after the census. Evaluate two of these reforms and consider whether you would expect them to improve American's satisfaction with Congress. In doing so, you need to describe the reform and how you would expect it to change the current political system. You must be clear about how these expected changes would (or would not) improve Americans' satisfaction with Congress.

Paper Logistics:

1. For each answer you should write about two double-spaced pages, 12 point font.

2. Each answer requires a minimum of 3 citations to either academic or credible journalistic sources/videos/podcasts.

3. Bibliography can be any format as long you identify your sources

Grading Criteria

1. Answer all parts of the question

2. How well did you justify your answer?

a. Consistency of your argument

i. Do your conclusions follow from your evidence and claims?

b. Quality of the empirical and/or logical support for the argument

i. Is the empirical evidence from a credible source?

ii. Does the empirical evidence support the claims?

3. Citations and Bibliography