Burlington High School
Burlington, Kansas
Teacher: Devra Parker
The Role Of Government
By Will Lawrence
12th Grade
We fought the revolutionary war against the British in 1775 to declare our independence from England. Many men fought and were killed for our freedom that we have today. They battled so that we could have a fair government that served justice to all of the people in this great nation. I feel that our nation’s government should be a strong one, but not a controlling one.
Our country was set up on the basis of a democracy with a central government and divided power among the states. The forefathers of America put their lives into a government that the people could be happy with. These men worked hard to create a document called the Constitution. This document serves as the supreme law of the land for all to follow. They also created the first ten amendments to the Constitution called the Bill of Rights. The idea behind this act was to grant all citizens certain unalienable rights such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
A strong government has many good thoughts behind it. One good idea is that there is less crime because the people will fear the punishment from the government. In most cases around the world, the government issues severe and cruel punishments. This really discourages people from breaking the law. Another important detail would be that the health care would be controlled nationally, and everyone would be able to afford it. A lot more jobs would be created for the public with national funds; therefore, more money would go to the families in each community. The people would really be united as one, creating a more peaceful society.
Of course, along with the good comments come the bad ones. Some negative viewpoints about the idea of a strong national government would be that it would be less of a democracy and more of a socialist or communist state of government. People with big dreams would not be able to live them because the government would condemn them. There wouldn’t be any professional athletes, no Olympians. Women wouldn’t have the same rights as men to go out and get jobs. No one would be able voice their opinions on issues with the government without fear of being punished. We would never be able to peacefully protest against our government, like when the democrats demonstrated during the republican national convention earlier this year. America would become more like Iraq or Afghanistan. The whole idea could potentially backfire, and the people would be stuck in a poor, rundown, diseased country. The U.S. can’t allow that to happen. We are the leading nation of the world and must remain a strong and free society.
We should be allowed to pursue our dreams. Whether it is to be a teacher, doctor, lawyer, or professional athlete, we should have the right to choose. We should have the right to reach out for our goals and succeed in life. Everyone should be able to express him or herself in society without the government cracking down on us. Freedom is a major right in the United States, and we thrive on it. The citizens under our government demonstrate in ways of protest, boycotts, and marches to show happiness or unhappiness with out government. In other countries this would not be allowed to happen. We are very lucky to be able to exercise this in our strong nation.
I believe that our country is run just the way that it should be run. Our government takes care of us and gives us rights that few other countries are allowed to have. We should be proud of our nation and come together as one, not fight over the election of the next president. Everyone should forget who is Republican and Democrat and work together to improve our country. If all of us can come together, I’m sure that we can work to make our society a better place to live. There are problems that America faces today that need to be dealt with. Of course we have to help out other small countries that have severe problems, and they can’t help themselves. We can’t forget to take care of ourselves as well. It’s great to help other nations, but we must protect ourselves as well. A strong central government and a strong nation is a great gift to have, as long as it doesn’t turn into a socialist or communist state of government. We have certain responsibilities around the world, but our country is most important and we can’t help anyone else if we don’t help ourselves.
Answers To Questions Re: The Required Reading
George Will
Q1- State the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and give two reasons it was disregarded in the case of Wickard v Filburn, 1942. The 10th Amendment gives the implied rights of the Constitution to the States and/or the people. In the Case of Wickard v. Filburn, the implied powers went to the Federal Government. That is because the Court’s composition changed and a certain judge decided that the Constitution could be interpreted many different ways.
Q2- What was the rationale that the Court used in the Filburn case? They Believed that even a small and minor economic activity could have a large effect of the interstate commerce of the United States, so therefore even if some of the wheat never goes to market the production quotas et by congress stand strong.
Q3- What has happened in the past nine years to reverse the trend towards decentralizing government in the United States? The creation of the first microprocessor led to the development of personal computers, fax machines, cell-phones and many other great technologies. The technological age, along with the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the centralization of government that it symbolizes, has pushed to reverse the centralization of the government.
Wick Allison
Q4- What evidence does Wick Allison offer to show that the United States is drifting closer to socialism? He uses the example of the rent-control laws of New York City to show how America is closer to becoming a socialist country then ever before.
William Peterson
Q5- Use one paragraph to tell us some facts about Ludwig von Mises. Use the Internet for research. This significant economist worked throughout his like to influence the Libertarian movement. He devotedly believed that the government should not be all that powerful. Much of his life was dedicated to teaching his theories. He started teaching in Austria; however, due to the rise of Hitler and his Nazi party he fled Austria and moved to Geneva. Eventually, he ended up teaching at New York University.
Q6- Take one Paragraph to describe Keynesian Economics. Use the Internet for research. It states that the general trends tend to overthrow the
Q7- According to Bettina Bien Greaves, what does Mise claim is necessary to reverse the worldwide trend towards larger and more centralized government? He claims that the government now has the power to change any issue that they believe is going wrong and therefore can control more people. He believed that men must change their ideas to prevent large governments of the world from gaining total control.
Congressional Quarterly
Q8- Define a “Burden hour.” A burden hour is the period of time it takes to fill out forms, such as federal ones, surveys, and reports. It also includes the time takes to collect the date needed. A majority of the time it refers to a federal paperwork for such things as taxes and net income.
Q9- Graham is a proponent of “risk analysis.” How is risk analysis defined on page 992 of the May 5, 2001 issue of Congressional Quarterly Weekly? It is described as calculating the likelihood of a hazard against the costs and benefits of preventing it.
Q10- Who was the first president to order federal agencies to weigh potential costs and benefits when writing a rule? President Jimmy Carter began the federal agencies which have to weight potential costs and benefits when writing rules.
CQ Almanac
Q11- How much world compliances with OSHA’s regulations to limit injuries or disabilities from performing repetitive tasks cost according to an estimate by business groups as reported in the 2000 CQ Almanac? What was the response of OSHA and Labor Department officials? The regulations would set it up so that 27 million workers would have less repetitive motion injuries from such occupations as airport cargo handlers, grocery store checkout clerks, and textile mill weavers. This regulation would affect 1.6 million employers. They responded to negative feedback by employers by adding in that the rule was made to be flexible and was not going to be required by most companies to take any action.
CQ May 19, 2001
Q12- On the average, how long does it take to build an airport? A highway? On average, it takes about 15 years to build an airport. It takes just slightly less time to build a highway, 12 years.
Wall Street Journal June 18, 1993
Q13-
Discuss the pros and cons of licensing requirements.
They can be a very good thing in the situations in which they protect customers
from under experienced professionals. It could save a life in the case of a
doctor being licensed. Would you want a doctor who didn’t have a license to
practice medicine? However, in the case of young Monique Landers, the
requirements have gone terribly wrong. Monique just wanted to braid hair and
make some money on the side, and I don’t see how she was hurting anything by
doing this. How is America going raise productive youth if they can’t pursue
their own business ventures while growing up?