Discussion 15

5. What are valid reasons for the United States to engage in foreign wars? Is pre-emptive war justifiable? Explain.

Engaging in foreign wars is valid when our own people are endangered, when a major human rights violation is occurring (i.e. genocide), when our economic stability is directly threatened, and when there is a threat of sworn enemies of the US coming to power and gaining strength and weaponry. I think that pre-emptive war is only justifiable if altercation is clearly imminent. I don't think that the doctrine should allow for lackadaisical military action. If there is an urgent threat to our allies, as well, we should offer aid to them, as a matter of principle. 

Tommy Fiszel:
I think what you said about engaging in foreign wars is valid when our own people are endangered, when a major human rights violation is occurring, was a very good point. 

Discussion 10

4.  Should the U.S. Constitution be amended to put term limits in place for Supreme Court justices, say for 10–12 year terms, after which they would no longer be able to serve on the Court?

I think not. My reasoning is that if the Presidents continually appoint new Justices every so often, there will be a steady, albeit slow, flow of newer thought into the Supreme Court. The good thing about having long (life) terms for Supreme Court Justices is that there is an unlikelihood that the Supreme Court will vacillate greatly in its interpretation of the law. If our Justices are appointed by different Presidents and are of different ages, I feel that the Supreme Court will be more balanced. I don't see any harm in having the life-terms, because even 10-15 years, the suggested term limit, is a pretty long time for a person to be in a government appointment.  So, I feel that it will create no greatly negative effects. 

Tara Greiving: Hi Dana, 

I think this is a very clear explanation. I also agree I think having the same one for long terms helps with consistency in the court rooms.

Kristen McPherson: Hi Dana!

I think your thought on having one long term instead of different shorter ones will definitely help keep things the same in the court room. But also having some change could be good.

Discussion 14

#3: Discuss why the immigration reform bill of 2007 did not produce reform?

The Immigration Reform Bill of 2007 did not produce reform because even though a couple different versions were produced, there were several attempts made at compromise, and there were several revivals of the bill, it failed to get a needed vote to stop debate and move on to a final vote.  Its major downfall was the heated criticism and debate and the inability to gain enough Senate approval to get a final vote. 

Discussion 13

#3 - A study of household inequality in eighteen developed countries found that the United States had the most unequal distribution of income. Why is that? What can/should the government do about this?

An unequal distribution of income is caused here by our capitalistic economic system. Many of the other 17 developed countries are not as capitalistic as America. The United States having an unequal distribution of income should not be drastically addressed by the United States Government. I align most closely with Equality of Opportunity, allowing for personal advancement via one's own effort, clever ideas, creativity, hard work, and character. I think that governmental welfare programs that help people who are struggling to attain minimum needs for survival (food, clothing, water, shelter, medicine, etc) are good, and that having them controlled by the government ensures that all those in need will actually have provisions available to them. I also strongly advocate for at least free 2 year degrees. I believe we should encourage higher education as a means to rise above low incomes and dead-end jobs. I think that welfare programs need to continue easing recipients back into the workforce so that they will not be living on welfare for the rest of their lives. I also don't want to see a massive minimum wage. I believe in raising the populace to a higher level, not the minimum wage. 

Discussion 12

#3 - Civil disobedience is defined as the willful but nonviolent breach of unjust laws. How might this be applied in today’s political climate

Civil disobedience in today's political climate can take form in many ways. Here are some of the methods of late that come to mind. I think of the #blacklivesmatter "die ins". Also, many recently engaged in civil disobedience regarding the Keystone XL pipeline:http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/03/03/1281795/-The-398-arrests-for-civil-disobedience-in-Sunday-s-anti-Keystone-XL-protest-are-just-the-beginning# (Links to an external site.). Also I think of the demands of fast-food workers for higher wages elicited some arrests as they obstructed roadways or blocked traffic. http://www.usatoday.com/picture-gallery/news/nation/2014/09/04/fast-food-workers-demand-higher-wages/15060063/ (Links to an external site.) 

Discussion 11

2.  When it comes to defamation of character, the press is given greater latitude when it comes to public figures than with private citizens. Is this appropriate? Why or why not?

I think that it is important that the press can freely analyze the actions and morals of public figures, especially political figures. That said, if they had less latitude, they would be subject to a great amount of litigation just from stating facts. The individual being written about could easily sue on the grounds of defamation, even if that was not the motive of the press. They would do this to avoid negative press. This actually does happen even now with the great freedom the press has. It even happens when private citizens try to spread the word on negative aspects of corporations and politicians. But, it does not happen to near the extent that it could. I believe this is appropriate because of the need to protect the privacy of citizens and to have the freedom of press to hold prominent people and organizations accountable. 

Discussion 9

4) Why do the terms bureaucracy and bureaucrats seem to have such negative connotations for most Americans?

Bureaucracy and bureaucrats are seen negatively by most Americans due to several factors.  

a) Oftentimes, the main way Americans have interaction with bureaucrats and bureaucracies is through government. Sometimes these bureaucracies slow down things for citizens or make things difficult for them. 

b) Many bureaucracies have highly paid executives or executive teams which have large salaries and are often seen as big spenders(wasteful).  Bureaucracies as well as their bureaucrats are seen as wasteful, since the seemingly endless processes and forms and "red tape" cost money as well as time. 

c)Another prominent reason that Americans may view bureaucracies/bureaucrats in negative light is the opinion that bureaucracies provide poor service and do not relate well individually to the needs of those they serve. An example would be getting an automated answering service rather than a "real person" when you call in to an organization.  

d) Those who oppose "big government" push these ideas and use the idea of "bureaucracies are bad" to try to further their small government ideas. 

This article is about how bureaucracy is actually good, and attempts to debunk some of these main ideas about bureaucracy. The article refers to them as "myths" but I am not sure they are really myths. Maybe they are concerns that are overblown a bit, but I don't believe the concerns are totally imaginary-i.e. a myth. But I am curious as to what others and Dr. B think about the ideas presented.  

http://www.governmentisgood.com/articles.php?aid=20&print=1 

Dr.B's response:

Dana, when I went to work in Topeka in the mid 90s, I was surprised to see the quality of work and the dedication of bureaucrats as I had a very negative opinion about them from things I had read and heard in the media. With our frequent and often disruptive elections, the bureaucrats are actually the ones who keep our government functioning while the politicians are experimenting. They are the glue that holds things together and stop utter chaos. There are thousands of dedicated and talented bureaucrats who are given a bad name by the far fewer bad apples in the mix. 

Web Critique 15

Website Name:  http://amnesty.org
Operated By:  Amnesty International
Funded By: Donations

The website of Amnesty International is a very good resource to people who would like to have their eyes open to human rights violations around the world. I believe the best feature of the website is the ability to look, by country, at current human rights violations. There is also a downloadable PDF file titled “The State of the World’s Human Rights”. Amnesty publishes such a report each year outlining the state of human rights by region and by country. They offer the report in a good number of different languages. There are many fantastic education resources on the site, many of which are in other languages than English, such as “Human Rights Bingo”, education blogs, the link to Amnesty’s site www.respectmyrights.org which has two great interactive tools, the Poverty Trap, and the Housing Journey regarding how lack of housing affects human rights, and more. Overall, Amnesty International is doing good work. I don’t personally agree with all of their stances, but they are a loud voice for many many good causes and their website is a big part of their movement. 

Web Critique 14

Website Name:  Office of Family Assistance
Operated By:  Administration for Children and Families
Funded By: Administration for Children and Families

The OFA administers several key federal grant programs, including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Tribal programs, Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood, and Health Profession Opportunity Grants. Their website has a professional, streamlined look to it and has a simple, easily navigable layout to summarize the assistance offered to families from the government. I liked that among the information on the site (which is generally about federal aid to families-often in the form of block grants to states/tribes), they also had links to state and tribal organizations which are the main way that federal aid is doled out to needy families. That is obviously a very helpful service of the website-directing people to where they can actually get the help they need. There is also access to different reports listed by fiscal year among other data. Their programs tab has an extensive listing of their programs and also the associated policy and laws. At the top of the page there are also links to the Administration for Children and Families, the umbrella administration over the OFA, and also to the Department of Health and Human Services, which is over both. Overall this site is pretty good! I can’t really come up with too much to criticize.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Web Critique 13

Website Name:  www.cbo.gov
Operated By:  The Congressional Budget Office
Funded By: Congress via the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974

According to the website, “CBO provides formal, written estimates of the cost of virtually every bill approved by Congressional committees to show how the bill would affect spending or revenues over the next 5 or 10 years, depending on the type of spending involved.”, as well as other information, such as evaluations of the President’s budget, tabulations of Congressional actions, etc. They are required by law to disclose the methodology for their calculations. The website presents its information in a very professional and clean layout. They have a convenient document on the website titled An Introduction to the Congressional Budget Office providing basic information about the institution. Their Topics tab makes it easy to search for budget information on any topic. Once you find a topic you are looking for, there are many different related reports sorted by “Featured”, “Latest”, and “Policy Options”. The reports succinctly convey the information along with appropriate graphs or charts. The website is easily navigable, with access to the tabs on all website pages. The Cost Estimates tab takes you directly to Cost Estimates on specific House or Senate bills, and also a search engine for finding ones you may be looking for.  And between the FAQ tab and the Blog, any other possible budget information you could ever want is easily found!

 

Web Critique 12

Website Name:  Black Voices
Operated By:  The Huffington Post
Funded By: The Huffington Post- most likely advertising money

This website is a part of the larger Huffington Post website. They provide a plethora of different articles on things related to black people. I was impressed that they even include many articles on issues in other countries relating to the subject as well. With the typical amount of liberal bias that Huff Post exhibits, however, I wish they would assume a more balanced reporting style. Also I really don’t like the layout of any of the sub-sites on Huff Post. They put different posts into the page as smaller thumbnail pictures with a blurb and title, which in itself is enough to make my eyes strained after a while of scrolling through. In addition, they place thumbnail links to unrelated articles and advertisements on the page too, making it hard to focus in on what you’re actually looking for. They obviously are employing click-bait to get more reads on other articles and advertising traffic, but it makes their website more difficult to read. It also makes the page look disorganized and messy. 

Web Critique 11

Website Name:  Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting, Inc. (FAIR), www.fair.org
Operated By:  Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting, Inc.
Funded By: Donations. They are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

This website has an interesting goal- to provide an aggressive independent check for the large corporate media in our country.  They detect skewing of information, media censorship, and unfairness/bias in reporting. I agree with the makers of this site that such an organization is important to ensure that the media is reporting correctly. I currently feel that they are not, but that is another issue entirely. You can choose options from a list and go quickly to a collection of articles on the topic or geographical region you choose. There is a blog and a collection of studies FAIR has done. I think it is good that they not only analyze current media coverage, but also conduct actual studies in different areas and then provide these on their website. The website has access to their print publication, Extra!, and radio show and several prominent links to donate. I’d say that their writers are about as liberal most times as the regular media, but at least try to be balanced. I think the site could choose a more modern and slick looking cover for their publication. I feel that it looks a bit childish, with its use of cartoons on its front. Overall, there is not much negative to say. 

Web Critique 10

Website Name:  Supreme Court of the United States                                  
Operated By:  United States Government                
Funded By: Congress allocation

This website is the online home of the Supreme Court of the United States. It is a well-organized, aesthetically pleasing, and easily navigable webpage.  Most importantly, it provides information in a way that is understandable to regular citizens. They even include several sections to make the website as helpful as possible to interested citizens. These locations on the website are titled “Visitor’s Guide to Oral Argument”,  “Where to Find Briefs”, an interesting five-fold section titled “About the Court”, “Visiting the Court”, “Touring the Building”, “Exhibitions”, and a helpful FAQ. Really I can’t offer any constructive criticism for the site. They organize their information in such a logical orderly manner, that it is really a great website!

 

Web Critique 9

Website Name:  www.usa.gov
Operated By:   Federal Citizen Information Center, a division of U.S. General Services Administration’s Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies
Funded By: Annual appropriation from U.S. Congress

USA.gov is a website dedicated to making it easy for citizens at any time to access any type of information they could ever want (and much that they don’t even know exists!).
This website is truly an impressive accumulation of information from the U.S. government. An incredibly complete collection of information, it really astounded me when I explored the website. It is honestly difficult to describe the website simply because it includes so much information. However the website is describable in a few categories: Services and Information, Government Agencies and Elected Officials, Free Publications, Blog, and easy contact-email, phone, facebook, twitter, etc. One more thing to note is that the website directly links easily to whichever government website includes the information you’re searching for. Lastly, in light of our study this week about bureaucracy, this website underscores how truly humongous our government really is. On that note, when you look at the A-Z Index of Government Agencies, it really makes this apparent. In conclusion, this is a new bookmark on my internet browser and it should be on yours too, because it is really a great resource for any American!

 

Teacher Response to Special Project

Great job, Dana, and good critical thinking! Yours is the best paper I have graded so far. Please read the attachment and let me know if you have any questions.

You did a great job on this. Please review the notes below and the rubric parameters. This assignment’s main purpose was to lead students to see the ‘big picture’ of the state of political media coverage in the USA today. Our forefathers recognized the importance of a well informed populace who can vote intelligently on issues affecting the country. Thomas Jefferson said,  ". . . whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government; that, whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them right." He also said, "The only security of all is in a free press. The force of public opinion cannot be resisted when permitted freely to be expressed. The agitation it produces must be submitted to. It is necessary, to keep the waters pure." --Thomas Jefferson to Lafayette, 1823. ME 15:491 and "The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter. But I should mean that every man should receive those papers and be capable of reading them." --Thomas Jefferson to Edward Carrington, 1787  and "Our liberty cannot be guarded but by the freedom of the press, nor that be limited without danger of losing it." --Thomas Jefferson to John Jay, 1786.  
When only 5 huge corporations own most of the media, they are not interested in the common good or guarding our freedom.  Corporations are interested in profit, ratings and entertaining the public.  Hard news is rather boring to the general public (like C-Span) so most of what we see on TV and hear on the radio is entertaining or sensational news. There is also corporate bias in the news and contrary to common belief (or propaganda) the bias is to the right not the left.
Media Scholar Bob McChesney calls the 1996 Tele-Com Act one of the most anti-democratic pieces of legislation passed in the 20th century. Here is a summary of what the 1996 Tele-Com Act changed:

• Lifted the limit on how many radio stations one company could own. The cap had been set at 40 stations. It made possible the creation of radio giants like Clear Channel, with more than 1,200 stations, and led to a substantial drop in the number of minority station owners, homogenization of play lists, and less local news.
• Lifted from 12 the number of local TV stations any one corporation could own, and expanded the limit on audience reach. One company had been allowed to own stations that reached up to a quarter of U.S. TV households. The Act raised that national cap to 35 percent. These changes spurred huge media mergers and greatly increased media concentration. Together, just five companies – Viacom, the parent of CBS, Disney, owner of ABC, News Corp, NBC and AOL, owner of Time Warner, now control 75 percent of all prime-time viewing.
• The Act deregulated cable rates. Between 1996 and 2003, those rates have skyrocketed, increasing by nearly 50 percent.
• The Act permitted the FCC to ease cable-broadcast cross-ownership rules. As cable systems increased the number of channels, the broadcast networks aggressively expanded their ownership of cable networks with the largest audiences. Ninety percent of the top 50 cable stations are owned by the same parent companies that own the broadcast networks, challenging the notion that cable is any real source of competition.
• The Act gave broadcasters, for free, valuable digital TV licenses that could have brought in up to $70 billion to the federal treasury if they had been auctioned off. Broadcasters, who claimed they deserved these free licenses because they serve the public, have largely ignored their public interest obligations, failing to provide substantive local news and public affairs reporting and coverage of congressional, local and state elections.
• The Act reduced broadcasters’ accountability to the public by extending the term of a broadcast license from five to eight years, and made it more difficult for citizens to challenge those license renewals.

The consequences from the 1996 Tele-Com Act have been far reaching and continue to impact the American public, as is documented well in a Common Cause report entitled “The Fallout from the 1996 Telecommunication Act.” One of the consequences of the 1996 Tele-Com Act has been the reduction in female and minority ownership of media, which has also resulted in a decrease in women’s and minority voices in news coverage. . It has also greatly increased profit motivation in news reporting that is sometimes frivolous (such as celebrity lives) yet of interest to the general public.

One more important outcome of the Clinton administration’s passage of the 1996 Tele-Com Act has been the ongoing relationship between the telecom industry and the Democrats. According to the Center for Public Integrity, from 1998-2004 the Democrats received over $82 million from the telecom industry and the Republicans just over $63 million. In the same way that Clinton’s support of NAFTA, the war in Iraq, and welfare reform have been a detriment to working people, media deregulation under Clinton has only benefited big business. Clinton is now sorry that this happened.

Sorry it took me so long to get all of these graded but it has been a very busy semester and this is a time consuming grading job. The state of media in our country is adversely affecting our democracy and it is important that we all understand this. Let me know if you have any questions about the assignment. :-) 

I gave you a few extra points that were hard to differentiate in the rubric.

It is a pleasure having you in the class and I hope you have learned a lot in this class!
Dr. B.

 

You are obviously interested in learning the truth but have some confusion that can possibly be due to listening to FOX news. Here are some studies about various news sources that show without exception that FOX is the least reliable source.
Fox Acknowledges Its "Hard Right Turn"

mediamatters.org/research/201109270027#

Fox News Viewers Know Less Than People Who Don't Watch Any News: Study

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/21/fox-news-viewers-less-informed-people-fairleigh-dickinson_n_1106305.html

Fox: The Liars' Network

http://www.thenation.com/article/159770/fox-liars-network

Study: Fox News Viewers Misunderstand Issues More than Others

http://www.fancast.com/blogs/2010/cable-news/study-fox-news-viewers-misunderstand-issues-more-than-others/

How Roger Ailes Built the Fox News Fear Factory

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/how-roger-ailes-built-the-fox-news-fear-factory-20110525

PBS Most Trusted News Source - http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/PPP_Release_National_0119930.pdf

The Science of Fox News: Why Its Viewers are the Most Misinformed

http://www.alternet.org/story/154875/the_science_of_fox_news%3A_why_its_viewers_are_the_most_misinformed

Fox News Viewers Uninformed, NPR Listeners Not, Poll Suggests
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2011/11/21/fox-news-viewers-uninformed-npr-listeners-not-poll-suggests/

Some News Leaves People Knowing Less http://publicmind.fdu.edu/2011/knowless/

Study: Fox News Viewers Have an IQ 20 Points Below US Average

http://rsnorg.org/news-section2/317-65/14938-focus-study-fox-news-viewers-have-an-iq-20-points-below-us-average

Study: Watching Fox News Makes You Less Informed Than Watching No News

By Michael Kelley  This post originally appeared in Business Insider on May 22, 2012.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/business_insider/2014/01/30/does_watching_fox_news_make_you_less_informed.html

4th Annual TV News Trust Poll

http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2013/02/4th-annual-tv-news-trust-poll.html

Analysis: Over Half of All Statements Made on Fox News Are False

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/07/09/analysis-over-half-of-all-statements-made-on-fox-news-are-false/

Instructor Notes - Global Policy

Instructor Notes for Chapter 20 - Global Policy Global Policy for the USA is becoming increasingly important as the world is more interrelated every day. Critical issues such as climate change, pandemic diseases, arms control, trade issues, terrorism, and others demand the nations cooperate to manage common issues. The textbook indicates that the American public shows minimal interest in international affairs. This dearth of interest in global issues is further deepened by the lack of reporting on International news by the corporate-owned media. When the electorate is neither knowledgeable nor interested in global affairs, it becomes even more critical that the policy making systems in the government function in a responsible manner for the common good of the nation. This last chapter of the textbook describes the players, structures, and primary issues that define the making of foreign policy in the United States. It is my hope that after taking this class, students will show a greater interest in global events and policy the general public.

Instructor Notes - Policymaking and Domestic Policy

Instructor Notes for Week 15 –Chapter 19- Policymaking and Domestic Policy The USA domestic policy is again being debated by the political parties and members of Congress. The country is at another critical point in the future of our vital domestic programs. If you have time to listen to this hour long debate, you will learn a lot about the issues involved. Here is a sample of what you will hear: “ . . . Now comes Wall Street's "third way" of hijacking the nation's wealth: it's trying to persuade Democratic supporters to support the dismantling of the social contract that has held our society together for 75 years. And it's using many of the same tactics -- and many of the same faces -- it used in its first two forays. If you liked Wall Street deregulation, an inequitable bank bailout, and a get-out-of-jail-free card for bank executives, you're going to love this. The Anti-Social Contract Movement The goal is to cut the popular and successful programs they describe as "entitlements."  Cutting Social Security benefits will reduce political pressure on the undertaxed wealthy, while creating new investment markets for Wall Street retirement funds. Directly or indirectly slashing Medicare and Medicaid benefits also reduces that pressure. It would be more effective, more humane, and more rational to reduce Medicare's costs by reducing the effects runaway greed at every level of our health economy - but that would be bad for their investments. . . .” HuffPost Hill: FIGHT! - Social Security Works' Alex Lawson and Third Way's Jim Kessler battle for close to an hour on Social Security and the social contract. (Lawson's for it.) It's that rare thing in Washington, an actual debate, played out here on Ari Rabin-Havt's Sirius show The Agenda.   (Links to an external site.) The Agenda with Ari Rabin-Havt: Alex Lawson and Jim Kessler debate (Links to an external site.) Read more about it here - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/wall-street-finds-a-third_b_2158836.html (Links to an external site.) ‎11/14/2012 Jim Kessler of the Third Way and Alex Lawson of Social Security Works debate on SiriusXM Left's The Agenda with Ari Rabin-Havt. ................................................................................................................................................................................. Minimum wage is another issue being debated at this time.

Instructor Notes - Economic Policy

Instructor Notes for Week 14 –Chapter 18 - Economic Policy This Chapter and this topic are very important for the public to understand because there has been so much political rhetoric and misinformation distributed about the economy by the corporate owned media. The selftest is therefore a bit longer this week with 60 questions. There is much to learn and it is a topic that most people avoid if possible. However, the USA cannot afford to avoid this topic with the current unemployment rate and the need for the public to speak as loudly to influence Congress as the lobbyists for corporations and the 1%. The voters decided that they believed President Obama presented the best approach to creating jobs and strengthening our economy with his often repeated call to increase taxes for the wealthy. In spite of being outspent by his opponent’s super pacs three to one, the American public chose to reelect President Obama. If more of the public had truly understood the state of the income gap in the USA, I believe the President’s victory margin would have been much greater. This is a great video that is well worth your time to watch. Economist Richard Wolff joins Bill Moyers to shine light on the disaster left behind in capitalism’s wake, and to discuss the fight for economic justice, including a fair minimum wage. A Professor of Economics Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, and currently Visiting Professor in the Graduate Program in International Affairs of the New School, Wolff has written many books on the effects of rampant capitalism, including Capitalism Hits the Fan: The Global Economic Meltdown and What to Do About It. http://billmoyers.com/episode/encore-taming-capitalism-run-wild-2/ (Links to an external site.)   (Links to an external site.) It would also be worth your time to listen to this debate that addresses the question our Congress must now actually face. Try not to succumb to the hollow “flat tax” argument as that is quite simply a regressive tax. There is a video and two versions of the audio one of which is condensed if you don’t have much listening time. Please check this out and you can debate all your family at your next Thanksgiving dinner. http://intelligencesquaredus.org/debates/past-debates/item/775-the-rich-are-taxed-enough (Links to an external site.) The Rich Are Taxed Enough  (Links to an external site.) Most Americans have no idea how much wealthier the top 1% have gotten in the last couple of decades. The data below is taken from 2007 figures and the situation has grown much more extreme since then. Measuring the Top 1% by Wealth, Not Income  http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/17/measuring-the-top-1-by-wealth-not-income/  (Links to an external site.) “But an analysis of the Fed data is still revealing in that it shows the wealth gap, as measured by net worth, is much more extreme than the chasm as measured by income. The Times had estimated the threshold for being in the top 1 percent in household income at about $380,000, 7.5 times median household income, using census data from 2008 through 2010. But for net worth, the 1 percent threshold for net worth in the Fed data was nearly $8.4 million, or 69 times the median household’s net holdings of $121,000. . . . Other nuggets about the wealthy from the 2007 Fed data: — The wealthiest 1 percent took in about 16 percent of overall income — 8 percent of the money earned from salaries and wages, but 36 percent of the income earned from self-employment. — They controlled nearly a third of the nation’s financial assets (investment holdings) and about 28 percent of nonfinancial assets (the value of property, cars, jewelry, etc.). These measures will be particularly interesting to revisit when the new, post-recession data arrives. — Money may not buy happiness, but the Fed survey suggests it buys good health. About 90 percent of the 1 percenters describe themselves as being in excellent or good health, compared with 75 percent of everybody else. About 85 percent expect to live into their 80s, compared with 68 percent of everybody else. — Nearly half of the 1 percenters own two or more pieces of real estate. That was true for just 5 percent of the rest of the population.” The article below further explains the current decline in incomes. September 12, 2012, 1:24 pm Behind the Decline in Incomes By CATHERINE RAMPELL  (Links to an external site.) The Census Bureau just released its sweeping annual report (Links to an external site.) on income, poverty and health insurance coverage. As my colleague Sabrina Tavernise writes, median household income declined (Links to an external site.) last year to $50,054, a level last seen in 1996 when adjusted for inflation. Here are a few quick graphical bullet points from other findings in the report: 1. Median incomes fell from 2010 to 2011 for all races, although the change was not statistically significant for Asians and Hispanics. 2. Inequality rose, and is at its highest level on record since 1967.

The Gini Index is a standard measure of inequality, in which higher values represent more unequal distributions of money income. The “equivalence-adjusted income estimate” (blue line above) takes into consideration the number of people living in each household, and how these people share resources and take advantage of economies of scale.

3. Men have gained more jobs in the recovery (dubbed the “he-covery”) but they also lost a lot more jobs in the recession (“man-cession”).

4. There’s more evidence that the work force is “hollowing out,” as there was significant job growth in the first, second and fifth income quintiles, but not in the third and fourth ones.

5. The share of people without health insurance fell. The biggest drop was among those 19 to 25 years old, who can now join their parents’ health insurance plans. (The number of insured children also showed a decline from 2010 to 2011, but it was not statistically significant.)

Source: Census Bureau

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/12/behind-the-decline-in-incomes/ (Links to an external site.)

Instructor Notes - Equality & Civil Rights

Instructor Notes for Week 12 - Chapter 16 - Equality & Civil Rights It is amazing to many that the hard won civil rights we are studying this chapter this week are now being questioned by some in our society. Beginning with the issue of race, there is an excellent book entitled The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander, the former director of the Racial Justice Project of the ACLU in Northern California. She also served as a law clerk to Justice Harry Blackmun on the U.S. Supreme Court. In it she says, “Recent data shows, though, that much of black progress is a myth. In many respects, African-Americans are doing no better than they were when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated and uprisings swept inner cities across America. Nearly a quarter of African-Americans live below the poverty line today, approximately the same percentage as in 1968. The black child poverty rate is actually higher now than it was then. Unemployment rates in black communities rival those in Third World countries. And that's with affirmative action! When we pull back the curtain and take a look at what our "colorblind" society creates without affirmative action, we see a familiar social, political, and economic structure--the structure of racial caste. The entrance into this new caste system can be found at the prison gate.” An excellent synopsis of the book can be read athttp://www.econ.brown.edu/fac/glenn_loury/louryhomepage/teaching/Ec%20137/The%20New%20Jim%20Crow-from%20The%20Nation.pdf (Links to an external site.)  If you have not read it, I suggest you put it at the top of your list. If you don’t have time to read the book, watch this video - THE NEW JIM CROW Online Documentary   (Links to an external site.) During the 2012 election cycle, we heard and read about irregularities with our various state voting systems and the number of voter suppression laws that have been passed in numerous states. It was not really that many years ago that women finally got the right to vote in this country and now many are being disenfranchised by these new laws. Once again, the issue of affirmative action is before the Supreme Court of the United States. After integrating our schools with the famous Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka case in 1954 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, we now see many of our schools walking back their integration policies used for years, i.e. here in the city of Wichita. The 2012 election cycle has also highlighted class wars between the top 1% and the 99% and the “War on Women” concerning equal pay for equal work and personal health choices for American women.   All of the above issues are still relevant today so pay close attention to this chapter this week and you will be better able to discuss these issues and make decisions about who you want to represent you and your family at the local, state and national levels. Finally, with the most recent issues being raised about local policing and our civil rights, I'd like to share this video with students so that you will be protected if you are stopped by the police. Most of our officers follow the rules and will not use undue force with the public. But, it is good to know how to behave in these circumstances and hopefully have the best possible outcome.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDptsf81lVc&list=UUV3Nm3T-XAgVhKH9jT0ViRg (Links to an external site.)