Home Assignment #1
Chapter 1
What Share of GDP is spent by the governments in the United States? How is this divided among federal, state, and local government?
Trace the history of government spending in the United States in the Twentieth century. How do you account for the large increase in the size of the government? Do you view this growth as desirable or undesirable?
What are the major activities undertaken by the federal government? How have these activities changed since 1960? Does this indicate a conscious shift in the priorities of government? Do you view these changes as desirable or undesirable?
It has sometimes been suggested that the governments budget reflects goals and priorities of government. Government spends more in areas that it views as important as it does in areas that have lower priority. Does the governments budget accurately reflect the priorities of government? Are the governments priorities what you think they should be? If you could alter the governments budget, what changes would you make?
In a democracy, the governments decisions are made by majority rule. Is majority rule a good method for allocating resources? What are advantages and disadvantages of allocating resources by majority rule? When would majority rule allocation of resources be most appropriate, and when would it be least appropriate?