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Politics in Action: Limits of Public Understanding of Health Care Reform
• The biggest issue endured by Obama Administration was changing the Health Care system. o The proposal that brought up the issues was the program that would allow for a government-administered health insurance program for both individuals and smaller companies that are competing in the market. o This sparked a huge debate between people who supported it and those who were completely opposed to it. o As important the public opinion is towards the development of these type of programs, one major issue that was noticed is that many people who argued had lack of knowledge towards health care in general.
• It is all these reasons that make political scientists wonder if
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The American People
• Demography- The science of population changes. o Considering how immense the United States population has grown, there is only one effective tool that can records these changes. o Census- An “actual enumeration” of the population, which the Constitution requires that the government conduct every 10 years; the census is a valuable tool for understanding demographic changes.
The percent error that comes from this method is that not every household in America responds, forcing the national government to send agents door to door.
The reason they take the time is because the census determine how much federal money needs to be spent to maintain numerous public institutions. o In addition, American society basically being formed of immigrant descendants have a huge impact upon the government and its policy making process. o There multiple “waves” in which different types of immigrants entered the country:
19th Century was mainly English, Irish, Germans, and Scandinavians.
Early 20th Century then brought in Italians, Jews, Poles, Russians, and some