The downsizing movement is described by the text as the pursuit of certain symbols and certain assumptions about government. Discuss the origins, goals, and assumptions of downsizing paying particular attention to whether it is effective or not.
What will be an ideal response?
Downsizing purports that government is too big and should be reduced by setting arbitrary ceilings on taxes or personnel, making across-the-board cuts, or trimming the middle of the bureaucracy. Its methods are blunt targets, driven by the assumption that there is ample waste in government to accommodate the cuts. This movement started in the mid-1970s. According to the text, as often as downsizers declare government’s pathologies, they pursue remedies that make the pathologies worse. For example, in an effort to cut government spending and employees yet still provide the same services they often rely on government by proxy. The GAO has found that having fewer government employees means less oversight and over the years less oversight leads to higher costs.
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"Contract with America" proposals are associated with
a. Republicans. b. Liberals. c. Democrats. d. Socialists. e. Greens.
Since the Vietnam War, members of Congress have been __________ in the area of foreign policy
a. less involved c. more independent and assertive b. more deferential to the president d. None of the above is true.
The national government has come to rely increasingly on its _______ power to shape state policies
A) presidential B) ?legislative C) ?regulatory D) ?judicial E) informal
Most executive orders
a. arise from the authority and responsibilities explicitly delegated to the President by law. b. are quickly overturned by congressional action. c. fail to cite the authority that allows the President to take action. d. represent decisions by a president to disregard the plain text of the Constitution.