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Sci. Poli. 104 Paper 1 I'd like to be able to honestly say that I'm not in the same category as the people that Matthew Robinson and Michael Schudson wrote about in their articles, but the more I read, the more and more I could identify myself with the "ignorant voters" they both spoke so highly of. I don't think that I could easily list off each candidate's positions on more than one or two issues, especially if I wasn't currently enrolled in Political Science 104. Really, in any election but the current election, the probability of me succeeding at some kind of test about any elected officials would be significantly lower. That's pretty pathetic. I agree with both Robinson and Schudson when they say that it's ridiculous that most of the people that actually do vote can't even recognize the names of the incumbents on the ballot. So why is America so "politically unintelligent" nowadays? One of the best points I can bring away from Schudson's article is his statement about the United States has so many elections, and just as many if not even more elected officials. How is anyone supposed to keep up with it all? There are constantly elections going on around us, whether it's in your town/city/county/district/state or whatever, there is always something you can vote on. Professor Coleman even spoke about this in one of our lectures, how it's not really feasible to expect an average voter to know both candidates views on everything. Is it fair then, to assume that people should know more about the elections and candidates than they do? I say maybe. Even though I can understand how it would be frustrating for someone who is truly interested and involved in politics to overhear some "ignorant" voters talking, I don't think it's fair to really call them ignorant. Maybe instead of ignorant, we can refer to them as lessknowledgeable, and instead of criticizing, we can try to encourage and inform them. 1 I think that low voter turnout is not something our county is terribly proud of, so if the government were to place extra restrictions on voting, like some sort of test or questions to make sure that each voter has the same minimum amount of knowledge before heading in to the booth, would not be the most encouraging thing for them to do. Wouldn't that be similar to the days of the literacy tests and poll taxes that no one benefited from? There are so many things nowadays that discourage people from voting, why would we want to discourage even more people, instead of encourage those that don't vote? One thing that Professor Coleman spoke about in lecture, as one of the reasons the voter turnout is so low, is the introduction of personal voter registration. People don't vote because registering to vote themselves is too much of a hassle for them, and if that is a hassle, standing in line to actually cast a vote would be an even bigger waste of time for them, I think if some sort of test was added to the voting process more people would have less time to vote. Another point that Professor Coleman mentioned is that the media coverage today is much less coherent than it ever was before, and most people have a harder time putting all of the information together. That's not very encouraging to the people that want to learn more about the candidates and the elections. Lastly, I don't think that people vote or want to learn about the candidates because the campaign season is so long! I know it doesn't seem like a long time to the actual candidates, and in reality, it's not actually a long time. It's just so much back and forth, back and forth, back and forth that people just get sick of hearing about the same stuff, let alone the same issues EVERY DAY! Personally, I am so sick of this current election that I couldn't care any less who wins on November 2nd. Like we've talked about in discussion before, the two major party candidates have almost become the same person while trying to appease everyone, and swing the "undecideds" to their side. Voting, especially in major elections now, has really 2 come down to who is better looking, who dresses nicer, and who appears to have a better personality . . . not whose issues one agrees with more. So what would Schudson and Robinson want to argue with me about? Well for one, I think that Schudson would want to argue is that American's used to be knowledgeable voters, and real voters at the very least. I'd have to agree with him, American's were good, knowledgeable voters back in the day, but he's talking about a time before reality TV and video games, this was back in the day when newspapers reported real news, and more people were directly affected by which candidate was chosen. That is not life today folks. More and more people are much more interested to who's the next to get kicked off of Survivor, or who Britney Spears is marrying today rather than sitting down and paying attention to a presidential debate. That leads me into what Robinson would want to argue, why do more people know who TV Judge's Wapner and Judy are, but most American's can't name let alone pick out a picture of Chief Justice Burger or Rehnquist? I'll be the first to admit the only reason I know who William Rehnquist is, is because he's from Wisconsin! This goes back to what I've tried to argue before; politicians aren't usually very "viewer-friendly," especially if they are old. Younger voters want something nice to look at if you actually want their attention (or at least them pretending to give their attention), why else do shows like Elimi-date, the OC and other young, hot, less-clothingthe-better shows do so well? I think that no matter how smart someone thinks they are when it comes to politics, there will always be someone who knows more, and because of that and the different ways people retain information (important or not) will always cause some to think that others are "ignorant." Another point that Robinson brings up in his article is how the ignorant are voters skewing the polling results, because they are answering the pollster's questions even when they 3 don't honestly know the answer. My favorite example of this is one that Robinson uses in his article too, where in 1981 citizens were asked if they agreed or disagreed that the 1975 Public Affairs Act should be repealed. 24% said they wanted it repealed, 19% said they wanted it to remain in effect, and 57% said they didn't know what should be done (Robinson 2002). People. . . There is no 1975 Public Affairs Act! So why did all of the people polled answer the question? For the same reason women lie about their weight on their driver's license, so they aren't embarrassed. I'm pretty sure that each and every one of those people thought "Oh, well, I don't really know this . . . but I'm sure I'm the only one that doesn't . . . so I'll guess." I think that makes sense. People in 1981, much like people today are much "dumber" then they were 30+ years ago when voter turnout was high and the voters were informed. This is the time when there are less and less 9-5 jobs and people are actually doing things outside of their homes. You can't expect them get up early to watch the 6 or 8 am news, or rush home (through rush hour) to watch the 5 or 6 pm news, or even stay up late enough to watch the 9 or 10 pm news. Yes, in today's world of cable, there are channels made just for the news, but do people watch them? No! Why? Because they take too long to get to the point, and because they are just outright boring. I think in the end of it all, in order to make future voters more "knowledgeable", the government needs to make politics more exciting. They need to cut out the big words and the dumb suits, and actually make sense to people. Sure, today people have a shorter attention span, and by expecting people to watch a long, boring presidential debate is just unreasonable, but you know how annoying it is to go into the doctor's office and have them explain a simple skin rash with words like; Streptococcus pyogenes or Staphylococcus aureus . I say give the candidates a couple of trainers, a pair of boxing gloves, and a ring at the Bellagio and millions will be watching. You can't force people to become informed voters, and if the government were to 4 make some sort of test to make sure everyone was generally knowledgeable about what they were voting for, the voter turn out would significantly decrease, let alone people wanting to pay any attention at all to any kind of election. Voters are like your kids, when you tell them they have to do something, they rebel, and they don't. If you tell them they can or even shouldn't do something, and use a bit of positive reinforcement, they'll probably do it with more effort than anyone's ever seen. From personal experience alone, this is my first presidential election to vote in, before this, I couldn't have really cared less about elections because I didn't think it directly affected me. I'd like to suggest that schools should start teaching Civics classes and such at an earlier age, much like they are doing with the foreign languages, but I don't think that it will work. American's under the age of 18 can't vote, so why should they care who's running their country? They aren't the ones being taxed, they aren't the ones losing their jobs, yeah, their parents might be, but kids don't understand those things. I think people carry that attitude with them, the I-don't-really-need-to-know-because-someone-will-always-be-there-to-tell-me-whatto-do-and-how-to-vote attitude, and no one really feels like their vote is important, or that it will make a difference. So why would people want to be knowledgeable about something they aren't going to feel they are going to make a difference in anyway? Major props to this election though, not only for getting the messages out in a more "user-friendly" way, but just for making things (registration, voting) more convenient. This election, though long and close, has been the best election I think I've ever seen. One reason is because for once campaigns were aimed at young voters (the start of people's ignorance). Many celebrities spoke out for a candidate, and why did people listen? Celebrities are hot! If you let Bruce Springsteen tell you all about John Kerry's issues, people will listen (I mean, who doesn't listen to The Boss?) and they did. Just look at the turnout for the Kerry rally the other day. Most 5 of the signs you saw were for Bruce Springsteen or the Foo Fighters, yes, there were some Kerry posters in there too, but I think that was mainly because they gave them out at the rally. Why else did Arnold Schwarzenegger win as governor of California? Many people can't understand what he's saying half of the time, and when they actually can, he's referring to people as "girly-men" or talking about "pumping iron." Maybe Ah-nold has some good points, maybe the people of California just wanted to prove they could have someone running their state with bigger muscles than ex-Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura, who knows really. One good thing about Arnold though, is that he graduated from UW-Madison. The only thing that's going to be able to be done about informing voters is to get them information in creative ways. A lot of the time you aren't going to be able to make someone's opinion, but if the candidates can come up with a new way to inform the voters (new and old) about their issues, more people will listen and maybe vote. Politicians need to know that they can't talk to young voters (18-25 year olds) about Medicare and Medicaid the same way they would talk to the older voters (60+) about those issues. Medicare and Medicaid will eventually be important to the young voters, but not now. Keep getting MTV to sponsor cool events like Choose or Lose or even Rock the Vote and young people will become informed and hopefully carry that with them throughout the rest of their lives. 6
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Path: Wisconsin >> POLI SCI >> 104 Fall, 2005
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Path: Wisconsin >> POLI SCI >> 104 Fall, 2005
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Path: Wisconsin >> POLI SCI >> 104 Fall, 2005
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Path: Wisconsin >> POLI SCI >> 104 Fall, 2005
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Path: Wisconsin >> POLI SCI >> 104 Fall, 2005
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Path: Wisconsin >> POLI SCI >> 104 Fall, 2005
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Path: Wisconsin >> SPANISH >> 204 Fall, 2004
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Path: Wisconsin >> SPANISH >> 204 Fall, 2004
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Path: Wisconsin >> SPANISH >> 204 Fall, 2004
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Path: Wisconsin >> SPANISH >> 204 Fall, 2004
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Path: Wisconsin >> SOC >> 210 Fall, 2005
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Path: Wisconsin >> SOC >> 210 Fall, 2005
Description: Mark Twain once wrote, \"In the first place, God made idiots. That was for practice. Then he made school boards.\" Ever since the establishment of an organized system of education, there has been a desire to improve and change the system. The most effe...
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Path: Wisconsin >> SOC >> 210 Fall, 2005
Description: Short Paper # 4 By definition, secularization is the decline of religious belief, practice, and authority due to modernity (Seidman, 4/4/05). I don\'t believe that secularization is currently taking place in the United States; in fact, I believe that ...
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Path: Wisconsin >> SOC >> 210 Fall, 2005
Description: I. Introduction A. Background on School Vouchers i. What is a \"School Voucher\"? ii. Where can you use School Vouchers? a. Public Schools b. Private (secular) Schools c. Private (non-secular) Schools iii. Who is eligible for School Vouchers? iv. Who...
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Path: Wisconsin >> SOC >> 210 Fall, 2005
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Path: Wisconsin >> SOC >> 210 Fall, 2005
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Short Paper # 3
Path: Wisconsin >> SOC >> 210 Fall, 2005
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Path: Cornell >> ECON >> 1110 Spring, 2007
Description: Econ 101 Lecture 1 Should there be twelve sections of Econ 101 or only one? Students learn more effectively in smaller classes. But smaller classes are also more expensive. Some relevant costs: Faculty salary: $60,000 per \"course\" Per student faculty...
The_Economic_Naturalist
Path: Cornell >> ECON >> 1110 Spring, 2007
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101-2_07
Path: Cornell >> ECON >> 1110 Spring, 2007
Description: Econ 101 Lecture 2 The Economic Naturalist Example 2.1. \"Why do the keypad buttons on drive-up automatic teller machines have Braille dots?\" (Bill Tjoa) Example 2.2. Why are child safety seats required in cars but not in airplanes?\" (Greg Balet) A m...
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Path: Cornell >> ECON >> 1110 Spring, 2007
Description: Econ 101 Lecture 3 Some Common Pitfalls for Decision Makers Pitfall #1. Measuring Costs and Benefits as proportions rather than as absolute dollar amounts (as in the K-Mart vs. Campus Store examples from lecture 1) Exercise: Your employer has a trave...
101-4_07
Path: Cornell >> ECON >> 1110 Spring, 2007
Description: Econ 101 Lecture 4 Comparative Advantage: The Basis of Exchange Why do people exchange goods and services in the first place? Why not just produce our own food, cars, clothing, shelter, and the like? The answer is that we can all have more of every g...
101-5_07
Path: Cornell >> ECON >> 1110 Spring, 2007
Description: Econ 101 Lecture 5 How much does specialization matter? (I) Example 5.1. George and Tom are mechanics. Tom can replace 15 clutches per day or 10 sets of brakes; George can replace 10 clutches per day or 15 sets of brakes. At their garage, the number ...
101-6_07
Path: Cornell >> ECON >> 1110 Spring, 2007
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101-7_07
Path: Cornell >> ECON >> 1110 Spring, 2007
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101-07_Reading_list
Path: Cornell >> ECON >> 1110 Spring, 2007
Description: Cornell University Department of Economics Frank Economics 101: Introductory Microeconomics Reading List and Course Outline Spring, 2007 Prof. R. H. No matter what career you ultimately choose, you will be more likely to succeed if you understand t...
101-8_07
Path: Cornell >> ECON >> 1110 Spring, 2007
Description: Econ 101 Lecture 8 Price Elasticity of Demand A measure of the responsiveness of quantity demanded to changes in price. Highly responsive = \"elastic\" Highly unresponsive = \"inelastic\" Price elasticity of demand = The percentage change in the quantity...
101-9_07
Path: Cornell >> ECON >> 1110 Spring, 2007
Description: Econ 101 Lecture 9 The Law of Demand: People do less of what they want to do as the cost of doing it rises. The cost of an activity, good, or service involves not just monetary costs, but nonmonetary costs as well. Example 9.1. \"Free\" Hgen-Ds ice cre...
101-10_07
Path: Cornell >> ECON >> 1110 Spring, 2007
Description: Econ 101 Lecture 10 Substitution is the most important reason for the law of demand. When the price of something rises, we turn to substitutes. When the price of energy rises, people: form carpools take fewer trips buy 4-cylinder cars take public tra...
101-11_07
Path: Cornell >> ECON >> 1110 Spring, 2007
Description: Econ 101 Lecture 11 Example 11.1. How should Leroy divide his time between picking apples and writing pulp fiction? A men\'s magazine will pay Leroy 10 cents per word to write fiction articles. He must decide how to divide his time between writing fic...
101-12_07
Path: Cornell >> ECON >> 1110 Spring, 2007
Description: Econ 101 Lecture 12 A Note on the Firm\'s Shut-Down Condition It might seem that a firm that can sell as much output as it wishes at a constant market price would always do best in the short run by producing and selling the output level for which pric...
101-13_07
Path: Cornell >> ECON >> 1110 Spring, 2007
Description: Econ 101 Lecture 13 Markets allocate scarce goods and services on the basis of willingness to pay. Similarly, cost-benefit analysis resolves public decisions on the basis of willingness to pay. Is that a good thing to do? Doesn\'t willingness-to-pay ...
101-14_07
Path: Cornell >> ECON >> 1110 Spring, 2007
Description: Economics 101 Lecture 14 Calculating Total Economic Surplus Consumer surplus: the difference between the most a buyer would have been willing to pay for a product and the amount it actually costs her. Producer surplus: the difference between what a c...
101-15_07
Path: Cornell >> ECON >> 1110 Spring, 2007
Description: Economics 101 Lecture 15 Example 15.1. For the supply and demand curves shown, suppose a tax of $6/lb is levied on sellers. What share of the burden of this tax be borne by buyers? By sellers? Price ($/lb) 18 S 6 0 Quantity 12 18 (millions of lb/mon...
101-16_07
Path: Cornell >> ECON >> 1110 Spring, 2007
Description: Economics 101 Lecture The rationing function of price: to distribute scarce goods to those consumers who value them most highly. The allocative function of price: to direct resources away from overcrowded markets and toward markets that are underserv...
101-17_07
Path: Cornell >> ECON >> 1110 Spring, 2007
Description: Econ 101 Lecture 17 The Perfectly Competitive Firm Is a Price Taker (Recap) The perfectly competitive firm has no influence over the market price. It can sell as many units as it wishes at that price. Typically, a \"perfectly\" competitive industry is ...
101-18_07
Path: Cornell >> ECON >> 1110 Spring, 2007
Description: NCC 502 Lecture 13 Does the fact that perfect competition is socially efficient and monopoly is not mean that we should outlaw monopoly? Suppose the monopoly in question is the result of a patent that prevents all but one firm from manufacturing a hi...
101-19_07
Path: Cornell >> ECON >> 1110 Spring, 2007
Description: Econ 101 Lecture 19 Games and Strategic Behavior Thus far, we have viewed economic decision makers as confronting an environment that is essentially passive. But there exist many cases in which relevant costs and benefits depend not only on the behav...
Social Work 206
Path: Wisconsin >> SOC WK >> 206 Spring, 2004
Description: There has been an ongoing political debate over what to do about the problems with our current Social Security program. Before I explain what some of the problems and proposed solutions are, let me start with a background on Social Security. In 1935,...
101-20_07
Path: Cornell >> ECON >> 1110 Spring, 2007
Description: Econ 101 Lecture 20 Resolving Prisoner\'s Dilemmas and Other Commitment Problems In games like the prisoner\'s dilemma, the hockey helmet game, the ultimatum bargaining game, and the satellite office game, players have trouble arriving at the outcomes ...
101-22_07
Path: Cornell >> ECON >> 1110 Spring, 2007
Description: 1 Econ 101 Lecture 22 The Tragedy of the Commons Example 22.1. A village has five residents, each of whom has accumulated savings of $100. Each villager has two investment opportunities: 1. Buy government bond for $100 that pays 12% interest per year...
101-21_07
Path: Cornell >> ECON >> 1110 Spring, 2007
Description: Econ 101 Lecture 21 Externalities Sometimes costs or benefits that result from an activity accrue to people not directly involved in the activity. These are called external costs or external benefits- externalities for short. Example 21.1. Sara is an...
101-23_07
Path: Cornell >> ECON >> 1110 Spring, 2007
Description: Econ 101 Lecture 23 Information and Search Example 23.1. Suppose you want a new tennis racquet, but aren\'t sure which brand & model to buy. Dick\'s has a large selection, so you go there and ask a salesperson for advice. After some discussion about yo...
101-24_07
Path: Cornell >> ECON >> 1110 Spring, 2007
Description: Econ 101 Lecture 24 Communication Between Potential Adversaries When a toad and his rival vie for the same mate, each faces an important strategic decision. Should he fight for her or set off in search of another? To fight is to risk injury. But to c...
101-26_07
Path: Cornell >> ECON >> 1110 Spring, 2007
Description: Econ 101 Lecture 26 Winner-Take-All Markets People\'s incomes differ because of differences in their \"human capital,\" an amalgam of education, training, experience, intelligence, energy, and other personal attributes that affect productivity. These fa...
101-25_07
Path: Cornell >> ECON >> 1110 Spring, 2007
Description: Econ 101 Lecture 25 Wage and Salary Determination Example 25.1. Brady\'s Brick Company is one of hundreds of small firms that hire labor to mould bricks out of clay, which are then sold in the world market for ten cents apiece. Brady\'s only costs are ...
101-27_07
Path: Cornell >> ECON >> 1110 Spring, 2007
Description: 101 Lecture 27 Public Goods Public goods are those goods or services that possess, in varying degrees, the properties of nondiminishability and nonexcludability. Nondiminishability: any one person\'s consumption of a public good has no effect on the a...
