I'm heading out later today for the holidays so my access to the internet might be a bit sporadic. I want to give my 2301 mini next week's written assignment a bit early.
Next week's readings will cover the basic principles in the Constitution. As you'll see, each shares one major feature. They all involve divisions. Divisions are struck between government and the people in order to protect each from the other, the powers of government are separated and vested in three branches of government and power is also split between the national and state governments. None of these makes governing easy, but that is the intention. Recall that the simplest governing system - absolute rule by an autocrat - is also the most arbitrary.
The first written assignment - on the conflict over redistricting - was designed to get you thinking about the consequences of these divisions. The second assignment is designed to do the same.
If you have been following the news you have certainly heard about the ongoing struggle over whether to extend the reduction in payroll taxes (which fund Social Security), and for how long. You may be aware that the Senate and the House of Representatives have made different proposals about this matter and that the House refused to vote on a proposal that passed the Senate overwhelmingly. Clearly what motivated the Senate, did not motivate the House.
The merits of the proposal regarding extending the payroll tax reduction to the side, this is in many ways what each chamber is designed to do, check the actions of the other. So this conflict is a consequence of not only the separated powers and the checks and balances generally, but the bicameral legislative system specifically. If you pay close attention to the material presented, you will note that the House and the Senate have unique connections to the general population that almost gurantees conflicts of this sort.
I want you to explore that last point in your written work. Try to come to terms with why the House and Senate have come to different opinions on how to handle this issue and what this tells us about the differences between the two institutions. Is this conflict inevitable? I also want you to also consider the roles that political parties play in this conflict. We have yet to discuss them fully - but we will soon, so this is a good way to get familiar with what they are and what they do.
As with many of the written assignments I give you, I want you to struggle with the tension between what we might want a government to do - solve problems easily, efficiently and non-controversially - and what our government is designed to do in the Constitution: fight internally.
