Question

Generally, there are two definitions of the phrase "limited government." Conservatives tend to define this phrase to mean smaller government. By reducing the size of the debt, and the size of the Federal budget expenditures, Republicans believe that Americans have greater freedom. This is premised upon the belief that less governmental interaction in society is what Isaiah Berlin describes as "negative freedom." In other words, the interactions of government tend to result in more laws, more regulations and a demand for higher taxes each of which restricts one's individual freedoms. By government doing less, or through negative interactions, political conservatives believe that citizens have more freedoms.

On the other hand, progressives tend to define the phrase, limited government, as a government whose actions are limited to the written laws of the land. Democrats tend to believe that a larger proactive government is able to help members of society who are in need of assistance. This proactive government needs more money. With this money, government can create programs which assist those in need of help. Help can come in many forms including education, medicine, housing, and other forms of assistance including guaranteed student loans. The government can also pass laws and regulations which are designed to protect us from harm and reduce risks.

During this phase, you will:

Distinguish diverse values and ethical stances to make more nuanced and informed decisions in their political and professional lives.

Demonstrate values necessary to democracy by engaging in the performance of civic duties.

Analyze the role of the citizen in assuming responsibility for and contributing to the improvement of society.

Video & Commentary: Limited Government

https://youtu.be/dnwAU1s2Csg

Reagan at Brandenburg Gate - "tear down this wall", forquignon, 2008

The tensions between Russia and the West began long before Vladimir Putin became Russia's president. History suggests that as many as 80 million people died during the Second World War. After the Second World War Russia and her satellite states were referred to as the Soviet block and Russia became known as the Soviet Union or USSR. During the war, approximately 27 million citizens of the Soviet Union died. This equates to over 13% of their population. Some estimate that half of those deaths were the result of famine and disease.

By the end of the war, Russia was a member of the Allied forces in the fight to defeat Nazi Germany and Imperialist Japan. For a complex number of reasons, at the end of the war, this communist block of nations engaged in a "Cold War" against the Western democracies which included the U.S. A cold war is a subtle, aggressive, non-militaristic fight between powerful nations. In a speech at the University of Missouri in 1946, former English Prime Minister Winston Churchill famously described the line between democratic Europe and the nations that fell under the umbrella of the Soviet Union as an "Iron Curtain."

After the war, Germany was divided between the Soviet block of nations and democratic Western Europe. This sharp divide resulted, quite literally, in a wall dividing East Berlin (and communist East Germany) from West Berlin (and democratic West Germany). This wall of separation included the Brandenburg Gates: which were closed at the end of the Second World War in 1945. (Other countries have been similarly divided such as North Korea and South Korea, Sudan and South Sudan, or Ireland and Northern Ireland).

As you will see in this video, in June of 1987, the 40th President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, called upon the USSR's leader, General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev to end the Cold War by opening the Brandenburg Gates, and tearing down the so-called Berlin Wall. In November of that year, the wall began to come down and the Cold War temporarily paused as Russia struggled against domestic economic challenges. Today the Cold W ar a nd its associated tensions are rreemerging.

Readings & Research: Limited Government

Review the following Required Reading Articles:

http://archive.wilsonquarterly.com/sites/default/files/articles/WQ_VOL23_W_1999_Article_04.pdf

http://www.constitution.org/fed/federa47.htm

http://www.constitution.org/fed/federa51.htm

https://www.heartland.org/sites/all/modules/custom/heartland_migration/files/pdfs/16978.pdf

http://www.mmisi.org/ir/39_01_2/gregg.pdf

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/progressive-movement/report/2010/04/14/7592/the-progressive-tradition-in-american-politics/

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2007/11/the-birth-of-the-administrative-state-where-it-came-from-and-what-it-means-for-limited-government

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2007/02/a-moral-case-against-big-government-how-government-shapes-the-character-vision-and-virtue-of-citizens

Review the following Required Research Articles:

http://www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2015/04/08-federal-debt-worse-than-you-think-haskins

http://www.brookings.edu/research/topics/federal-budget

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/09/27/chart-of-the-week-the-bipartisan-federal-debt-limit/

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/10/09/5-facts-about-the-national-debt-what-you-should-know/

http://www.gallup.com/poll/147626/federal-budget-deficit.aspx?version=print

Videos: Limited Government

Review the following videos:

"How much does the U.S. tax system shrink the gap between rich and poor?" This fascinating video examines income disparities and how taxes play a factor in this distribution.

https://youtu.be/7fgtE-AJs-A

Do Federal Taxes Reduce Income Inequality?, Brookings Institution, 2015

In this video noted conservative economist Milton Friedman debates his good friend, and television progressive Phil Donahue over which is better for society: capitalism or socialism.

https://youtu.be/MQ0-cDKMS5M

Milton Friedman and Phil Donahue On Socialism v. Capitalism, TPOCS, 2013

Former Labor Secretary for the Clinton Administration (#42) Robert Reich presents the progressive argument for deficit spending and the national debt.

https://youtu.be/-LlbW5SHGGA

Robert Reich Debunks Republican Deficit Hawks, Inequality Media, 2015

Watch It or Read It: As a supplement to our assigned reading, Walter Willams follows up on his article, 'The State Against Blacks.' This African-American conservative discusses minimum wage and other aspects of the modern discussion of equality and inclusion. The author finds that today (2011) 70% of African-American teenagers that want to work are unable to find jobs. Why?

https://youtu.be/85OIBOSJTwg

John Stossel - The State Against Blacks, LibertyPen, 2011

Your friend poses the question "Why should I be concerned about the national debt?" in your social media feed.

How do you answer your friend? (Why should anyone be concerned about the national debt?) Use your experience from the budgeting skill-building activity and the assigned materials from this phase of the course to compose your response. Think about your role as an engaged citizen who wants the best for their country and its citizens. As a critical thinker, how do you respond? (Raise taxes, lower expenditures, create more debt through borrowing, some mixture of these three options).

Answer the question in a formal post between 500 and 600 words. Use at least three citations from assigned course readings from the current phase and one citation of an assigned reading article form a previous phase to support your position. Be certain to reference what you learned from the budgeting skill-building activity.

Once you have posted your assignment, review the assignments of three other students. How do their strategies differ from your own? What do you think the long term effect (5 years) of the policy approach advocated in the student's assignment will be on American society?

The rubric for this assessment will be used to provide feedback on your work. Review the rubric and use it to guide your work. Remember, it is your job as a student to demonstrate learning based upon the assigned course materials.