All AP US Government Resources
穰mple Questions
穰mple Question #12 :Enactment Of Public Policy
A Congressperson who want to introduce a bill on a subject that he or she fears will be controversial. In order to test public reaction to it, s/he call a friend at a major newspaper. The friend publishes a story about the fact that this issue is likely to be considered by Congress soon. What have I done?
Used loaded language
Attributed a source
Floated a trial balloon
Swayed public opinion
Written a feature story
Floated a trial balloon
Floating a "trial balloon" is the term for anonymously giving information to a news source to test the public reaction to a policy or appointment before it is formally introduced in Congress or another forum.
穰mple Question #1 :Policy Networks
The study of population statistics and changing birth-rates is called __________.
psychology
appropriation
enaction
demography
etymology
demography
birt等人口统计学是研究统计数据h rates, income levels, and distribution of population, which are used to measure the changing realities of population. It is important for determining change over time and for identifying historical trends, as well as for analyzing the makeup of contemporary society.
穰mple Question #2 :Policy Networks
Which of these executive departments was created most recently?
Interior
Labor
Agriculture
Transportation
Education
Education
The Department of Education is the most recently created of these executive departments. It was created in 1979 and is primarily tasked with administering federal aid to universities and schools. The other departments were created in the following years: 1849—Interior; 1889—Agriculture; 1913—Labor; 1967—Transportation.
穰mple Question #3 :Policy Networks
An unfunded mandate __________.
sets aside certain money that is not used in a government agency to be rolled over to the next calendar year
allows for Federal programs to be sponsored by an interest group so that the burden does not fall on the taxpayer
None of the other answers is correct.
is achieved when a Presidential candidate wins an election despite having a significantly lower amount of money raised in campaign financing
requires a state or local government to carry out a some action or procedure but does not provide any federal money to help them to do so
requires a state or local government to carry out a some action or procedure but does not provide any federal money to help them to do so
An unfunded mandate is a federal government ruling that requires state or local governments to carry out some action, procedure, or other piece of legislation, but does not actually provide any federal money in order to help the state or local government do so.
穰mple Question #4 :Policy Networks
What is the name given to a close relationship between an agency, an interest group, and a congressional committee that is generally mutually advantageous to all three groups?
The Inner Circle
A Grass Roots Campaign
An Iron Triangle
An Issues Network
A Co-dependent Network
An Iron Triangle
The Iron Triangle is the name used in US politics to a refer to a mutually beneficial arrangement between bureaucratic agencies, interest groups, and congressional committees. Essentially, all three groups provide one another with favorable feedback, decisions, and actions in order to meet aligned goals. It is controversial because it would seem to remove the individual American from the process of lawmaking.
穰mple Question #1 :Iron Triangle
Why could iron triangles be considered fundamentally detrimental to a democratic society?
Too much power is wielded by the Judicial Branch at the sake of the Legislative and Executive Branches.
It renders the impact of political accountability less substantial by ensuring that incumbents nearly always get reelected.
The general welfare and common good are forsaken so as to advance narrow and specific interests.
It takes power away from the Judiciary and places too much power in the hands of the Legislative Branch.
It takes power away from the common people by negating the impact they are able to wield in senate elections.
The general welfare and common good are forsaken so as to advance narrow and specific interests.
An Iron Triangle is when a bureaucratic agency, an interest group, and a congressional committee works together to advance its own agenda and act in its own interests. It is generally considered detrimental to a healthy democratic process because it ignores the interests of the common good for the sake of advancing specific and narrow interests.
穰mple Question #2 :Iron Triangle
Which of the following is an example of an Iron Triangle?
None of the answers are correct
Congress increasing funding to the Department of Agriculture in exchange for lower regulations on corn production
Congress passing a new budget that expands funding for several Departments
The Department of Education releasing a new policy that requires a higher Reading standard in public schools
Monsanto donating money to conservative congressmen
Congress increasing funding to the Department of Agriculture in exchange for lower regulations on corn production
Congress giving more funding to the Department of Agriculture (the bureaucracy) would expand the DoA's power base. In return, agricultural lobbying groups (special interests) would gain lower regulation for their constituents. Most likely, Congress would receive electoral funding promises for its efforts. This answer best represents all three point of the Iron Triangle.
穰mple Question #3 :Iron Triangle
What are the possible concerns surrounding the Military-Industrial Complex?
It can lead to a misallocation of government resources
It can hurt military self-sustainability
All of these answers are correct
It can cause unnecessary wars
It encourages corruption
All of these answers are correct
There are many concerns regarding the Military-Industrial Complex, including corrupting politicians, disproportionate military spending, an incentive to wage war on others, and private corporations gaining too much control over our ability to wage war.
穰mple Question #4 :Iron Triangle
What about the Iron Triangle could be considered problematic?
None of these answers accurately reflect a potential downside of the Iron Triangle.
It encourages a goal of cooperating for power instead of pursuing the public good
It increases communication between the legislative and executive branches
It means corporations will be able to make higher profits
It doesn't include the judiciary branch
It encourages a goal of cooperating for power instead of pursuing the public good
The biggest problem with the Iron Triangle is it encourages government agencies to pursue more power and funding instead of the public good. Oftentimes, the Iron Triangle will even result in sacrificing the public good in exchange for power, such as lowering environmental protections in exchange for oil money donations that don't benefit the public.
穰mple Question #5 :Iron Triangle
What is a possible benefit of the Iron Triangle?
All of the answers are correct.
Decreasing the influence of interest groups on Congress
None of the answers are correct.
Increasing the flow of political contributions makes for faster elections
Increased cooperation can lead to more efficient policy change
Increased cooperation can lead to more efficient policy change
铁三角建立es relationships between the most influential and informed groups in specific sectors affecting the nation. Improved communication between these groups can grease the wheels of policymaking and sometimes translate into a faster and cheaper public good.