HW # 3! Answers coming Soon!

POS 3424 – Congress – Homework/Extra-Credit Assignment 3 – spring 2008

Rudder (Chapter 14 in D & O):

What is Rudder referring to when she suggests that the Bush Administration may be using fiscal crisis as an “action-forcing strategy?”

What percent of the deficit creating in the George W. Bush administration is the result of tax cuts? Discuss the debate over the precise percentage.

What is “bracket creep?” When was it eliminated?

In Addition:

Respond to the following – As most of you probably know there are no term limits for our national legislators, although they did exist for a short time in the early 1990s in a couple of states. Subsequently, term limits were declared unconstitutional as a violation of free speech. However, students of American history can note many times when the Supreme Court has, in effect, overturned itself. Moreover, term limits do exist for many legislators in this country at the state level. There is a plethora of academic literature on this subject. Use JSTOR, the key word “term limits,” and the journals prescribed in the grading rubric to gain insights for answering this question and the additional points for citing outside research. The on-line textbook also discusses the topic some. Some issues that you might wish to address on the subject are: 1) The constitutional basis for term limits 2) The effect term limits have on recruitment (who will run?) 3) The effect term limits have on interest group influence in American politics 4) How would term limits influence the committee system or the efficiency of the legislative process? 5) Would term limits alter the role of congressional staffers?