Compare And Contrast The Government And The Federal Government

1. Describe what government is and what governments do.

Government is how formal organizations create and decide on plans and ideas to input for a group of people to follow. The organizations that are involved in making these decisions in the United States federal government are in the three branches of government. There are different levels of government as well, which include local governments, state governments, and the federal government. The government formulates plans and ideas and put them into effect. As a result, the government also affects the way people live their lives by restricting and allowing certain situations to happen. For example, the Supreme Court recently allowed same-sex marriage over the summer. This affects the lives

of people in the gay community since they are allowed to marry someone they love even if they happen to be the same gender.
2. Describe the fundamental questions about government that serve as themes throughout the textbook.
The questions that the textbook will address are in relation to the proper ways to guide a crowd and the extension of the government’s involvement.

The first question is about the ways to rule the government. This question will be answered by identifying the functions of a democratic government, analyzing the differences and similarities of a true democratic government to the government of the United States, and deciding which person or people have control over the laws being passed. For example, a true democracy has each and every person in the community vote, while in the United States government, there are certain people who vote on laws based on the group of people they represent. The American government has a representative democracy instead of a direct democracy. The second question deals with how much control the government should have for the people. Liberals think that the government needs to do more for its people, while conservatives think that the government should not interfere but instead let people take care of themselves. An example of this is if the government should monitor people’s usage on the Internet. Liberals would agree since they are in favor of the government controlling things, while conservatives would oppose to this idea since they believe that the people can monitor themselves on the

Internet.
3. Describe the five functions that all national governments perform.
National governments have an army or some form of military to fight for our country with the necessary weapons and equipment. National governments also supply objects and duties that any person can utilize. An example of this would be public transportation such as Amtrak. The government allows people to ride on trains to arrive to their destination for a reasonable price. National governments also keep a system in place to make sure that nothing chaotic or unordinary occurs. A recent example of this would be when the government made the Maryland Army National Guard stop the riots in Baltimore that occurred after Freddie Gray died. National governments also make sure that children and the younger people understand their country’s ideals and morals with certain requirements they must do. Lastly, national governments accumulate tariffs from the people in order for the government to have the necessary materials and duties that anyone can use.
4. Describe the “who,” “what,” “when,” and “how” of government.
The “who” “what” “when” and “how” of government is based off of Lasswell’s way of explaining the idea behind politics. People who are running for a position in the government, citizens who are voting, political groups, and political parties are all part of the “who” factor of government. The “what” of the government means talking about the issues that are worthy to discuss within the government. “When” means the time where politics become important such as elections days or the dates of GOP debates. “How” is related to the involvement of the people expressing their interest in politics by taking action based on their opinions on the policies. For example, if citizens want to increase the minimum wage, they can go on strike and protest in front of their company or a governmental building to make that happen. If they have an opportunity, the protesters have the right to vote on the issue to put the policy into effect.