Version 2.0 (Nov. 19, 2009)

Political Science 300: Contemporary Issues in American Politics
University of Michigan
Fall 2009

Gregory B. Markus
Professor of Political Science and Research Professor, Center for Political Studies
6735 Haven Hall
(734) 763-2222, gmarkus@umich.edu
Office hours: Mon. 4:10 pm to 5:30 pm, or by appointment

COURSE OVERVIEW

The purpose of this course is to develop your capacities as "leaders and citizens who will challenge the present and enrich the future." That phrase is from the official mission statement of the University of Michigan.

During the semester we will consider public issues that affect our lives and engage our values. We will emphasize not only how these issues affect us but also how we affect them: politics is not just something we can watch on TV or read about; it is something we can do.

This is a political course. That does not mean it is partisan or ideological. It means that it addresses matters of shared concern -- that is, public matters. In addition, some our readings will express political points of view, as will the lectures at times and as will you and your classmates in our discussions. Some people get uncomfortable about that. They claim that a course about politics should stick to the "facts." Well, that claim is itself a political point of view, not a fact. In any event, I suggest that trying to learn about politics without actually expressing opinions is like trying to learn about swimming without actually getting wet.

Our primary obligation in this course is to examine key political issues critically.Your GSIs and I strive to be fair and accurate in our presentations and in our selection of readings. We do not strive to provide equal time to every conceivable point of view on an issue, however, and for two good reasons. First, as a practical matter it is an impossible task. Second, it can create the impression that all perspectives are more or less equally supported by evidence, even when they plainly are not -- what journalists refer to as imposing an "artificial balance." In any event, the last thing your GSIs and I want is for you to appropriate our political views as your own. Please figure out your own views.

How the Course Proceeds

You don't purchase this course and "consume" it. The instructors don't deliver a product to you. Instead, students and instructors engage together in a semester of learning. Students' responsibilities in the learning process differ from instructors' responsibilities, but fulfilling both parts is necessary for the collective enterprise to work well.

Class discussions and lectures often move freely from assigned readings to the latest news. Because our subject matter includes issues and events that are unfolding as we discuss them, we may update the syllabus somewhat as we go along.

Lectures supplement the readings, not substitute for them -- and vice versa.

Grading

Grading is on a standard, no-curve 100-point system. Because we do not grade on a curve, there is no competition among you for a pre-set number of "A" grades. To the contrary, we encourage cooperation, studying together, and learning from one another. Of course, all work that you turn in must be your own.

Papers. You will write five 1500-word papers during the semester, worth 15 points each (or 75 points total). You will be given a specific assignment for each paper, although the assignments typically allow room for you to choose how to develop your response. We grade on the degree to which each paper presents a logical, well-organized response to the assignment, one that demonstrates you have grappled with and reflected upon material presented in our readings, lectures, and discussions and what you may have learned from relevant events and activities outside of class.

Participation in active, collaborative learning. The other 25 points is based on your performance in your discussion section (15 points) and your participation in five relevant out-of-class learning activities, largely of your choice (two points each). Because this course is a collective enterprise, your grade in it will reflect not only how well you demonstrate your mastery of the material but also how conscientiously you contribute to the learning of your classmates, primarily through your active and informed participation in class discussions. An important part of developing your capacities as "leaders and citizens" is practicing public speaking and listening.

Course Readings

I anticipate that there will be only one book you will want to purchase for this course: Financial Shock(Updated Edition), by Mark Zandi. It is widely available in paperback, including at local textbook stores.

All other required readings(and most supplementary ones) are available through links in our online syllabus, which is available through CTools and also through a link from my homepage (http://www.umich.edu/~gmarkus).

In the Course Outline below, readings marked with an asterisk are to be read by everyone. The supplementary readings are there for you to sample as you wish. I draw on them (and other sources) during lectures. From time to time your GSI may ask you to report briefly on some of the supplementary readings. Online registration (free) to the New York Timesmay be required to access its articles.

COURSE OUTLINE (Lecture dates in parentheses)

1. The Financial Crisis: Policy Failures, Human Consequences (Sept. 9, 14, 16, 21, 23)

First paper assignment posted Sept. 21, due in lecture Sept. 30

* Goodman, Peter S., and Jack Healy. 2009. "In unemployment report, signs of a jobless recovery," New York Times (Sept. 5).

* Andrews, Edmund L. 2008. "Greenspan concedes error on regulation," New York Times (Oct. 24).

* Solow, Robert M. 2009. "How to understand the disaster," New York Review of Books, 56 (May 14).

* Zandi, Mark. 2009. Financial Shock (Updated Edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: FT Press.

* Fuller, Andrea. 2009. "U.S. effort aids only 9% of eligible homeowners," New York Times (Aug. 4).

* Solomon, Deborah. 2009. "U.S. economy gets lift from stimulus," Wall Street Journal (Sept. 2).

* Andrews, Edmund L. 2009. "Troubled assets may still pose risk," New York Times (Aug. 11).

* Andrews, Edmund L. 2009. "Bernanke's next tasks will be undoing his first," New York Times (Aug. 26).

* Andrews, Edmund L., and David E. Sanger. 2009 "U.S. is finding Its role in business hard to unwind," New York Times (Sept. 14).

* Andrews, Edmund L. 2009. "U.S. hopes for global accord on financial reforms," New York Times (Sept. 23).

Bureau of Economic Analysis. 2009. "Gross Domestic Product: Second Quarter 2009"(Aug. 27).

RealtyTrac. 2009. "Sun Belt dominates first half 2009 foreclosure rankings but unemployment-related foreclosures may be spreading" (July 30).

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. The Financial Crisis: A Timeline of Events and Policy Actions.

Andrews, Edmund L. 2009. "Fed plans to inject another $1 trillion to aid the economy," New York Times (March 19).

Duhigg, Charles. 2008. "Pressured to take more risk, Fannie reached tipping point," New York Times (Oct. 5).

Baker, Dean. 2009. "The AIG saga: A brief primer," Center for Economic and Policy Research (March).

Zandi, Mark. 2009. "U.S. fiscal stimulus revisited," Economy.com (June 22).

Lahart, Justin. 2009. "The Great Recession: A downturn sized up," Wall Street Journal (July 28).

Kouwe, Zachery. 2009. "As banks repay bailout money, U.S. sees a profit," New York Times (Aug. 31).

Krugman, Paul. 2009. "Out of the shadows," New York Times (June 19).

Krugman, Paul. 2009. "Averting the worst," New York Times (Aug. 10).

Kerugman, Paul. 2009. "How did economists get it so wrong?" New York Times (Sept. 6).

Special Inspector General, TARP. 2009. Quarterly Report to Congress (July 21).

Congressional Budget Office. 2009. The Budget and Economic Outlook: An Update (August). Ch. 2. "The Economic Outlook," pp. 27-42.

Posner, Richard A. 2009. A Failure of Capitalism. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

2. The Federal Budget: Skeleton of the State (Sept. 28, 30, Oct. 5, 7, 12,14)

Second paper assignment posted Oct. 12, due in lecture Oct. 21

* Congressional Budget Office. 2009. The Budget and Economic Outlook: An Update (August). Read Ch. 1. "The Budget Outlook."

* Krugman, Paul. 2009. "Till debt does its part," New York Times (Aug. 28).

* Leonhardt, David. 2007. "Plain truth about taxes and cuts," New York Times (Oct. 31).

* Bartlett, Bruce. 2009. "Tax tea party time?" Forbes.com (April 10).

* Bartlett, Bruce. 2009. "Tax tea party time, Part two," Forbes.com (April 19).

* Hacker, Jacob. 2005. "Bigger and better," The American Prospect (May 6).

* Gramlich, Edward, 2007. "Why deficits matter: Testimony before the U.S. House Budget Committee." Washington, DC: Tax Policy Center.

* MacGuineas, Maya. 2007. "The $800 billion tax loophole," Washington Post (Jan. 18).

* Frank, Robert H. 2007. "Why not shift the burden to big spenders?" New York Times (Oct. 7).

* Hakim, Danny. 2004. "A fuel-saving proposal from your automaker: Tax the gas," New York Times (April 18).

* Holmes, Stephen, and Cass R. Sunstein. 1999. The Cost of Rights: Why Liberty Depends on Taxes. New York: Norton. Ch. 1. "All Rights are Positive."

Krugman, Paul. 2003. "The tax-cut con," New York Times Magazine (Sept. 14).

Bilmes, Linda, and Joseph E. Stiglitz. 2008. "The Iraq War will cost us $3 trillion, and much more," Washington Post (March 9).

Furman, Jason, 2007. "The effect of the 2001-06 tax cuts on after-tax incomes." Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.

Piketty, Thomas, and Emmanuel Saez. 2007. "How progressive is the U.S. federal tax system? A historical and international perspective," Journal of Economic Perspectives, 21 (1): 3-24.

Rohaly, Jeffrey. 2007. "The distribution of federal taxes." Washington, DC: Tax Policy Center.

Diamond, Peter A., and Peter R. Orszag. 2005. "Saving Social Security," Journal of Economic Perspectives, 19 (2): 11-32.

Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees. 2009. "Status of the Social Security and Medicare Programs (Summary)."

Howard, Christopher. 1997. The Hidden Welfare State: Tax Expenditures and Social Policy in the United States. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Slemrod, Joel and Jon Bakija. 2004. Taxing Ourselves: A Citizen's Guide to the Debate over Taxes. 3rd ed. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Congressional Budget Office -- excellent source of information on federal taxes and spending

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities -- nonprofit research center with emphasis on policies affecting low- to moderate-income people

Tax Policy Center -- a joint venture of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution

Bureau of the Public Debt. FAQ about the National Debt

TreasuryDirect.gov The National Debt to the Penny

3. The Politics of Health Care (Oct. 21, 26, 28, Nov. 2, 4)

Third paper assignment posted Nov. 2, due in lecture Nov. 9

* Pear, Robert. 2009. "Spending rise for health care and prescription drugs slows," New York Times (Jan 6).

* U.S. Census Bureau. 2009. Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2008. Read pp. 20-26.

* Abelson, Reed. 2008. "Millions with chronic disease get little to no treatment," New York Times (Aug. 5).

* Krugman, Paul, and Robin Wells. 2006. "The health care crisis and what to do about it," New York Review of Books, 53 (March 23).

* Reid, T. R. "Frontline: Sick around the world." PBS. (View the 60 min. documentary online.)

* Reid, T. R. 2009. "5 myths about health care around the world," Washington Post (Aug. 23).

* Jost, Timothy S. 2006. "Our broken health care system and how to fix it: An essay on health law and policy," Wake Forest Law Review, 41 (2): 537-618.

* Fuchs, Victor R. 2009. "The proposed government health insurance company--no substitute for real reform," New England Journal of Medicine (May 28).

* Rutenberg, Kim, and Gardiner Harris. 2009. "Conservatives see need for serious health debate," New York Times (Sept. 3).

* Brownlee, Shannon. 2003. "The overtreated American," Atlantic Monthly (Jan/Feb.)

* Blumenthal, David. 2001. "Controlling health care expenditures," New England Journal of Medicine, 344 (10): 766-769.

* Agrisano, Carlos, et al. 2007. Accounting for the Cost of Health Care in the United States. San Francisco: McKinsey Global Institute. (Synthesis)

Cutler, David M., Allison B. Rosen, and Sandeep Vijan. 2006. "The value of medical spending in the United States, 1960-2000," New England Journal of Medicine, 355 (Aug 31): 920-927.

Davis, Karen. 2006. "Consumer-directed health care: A panacea or the wrong prescription?" Physician Executive, 32, 5: 12-16.

Gabel, Jon R. 2009. "Congress's health care numbers don't add up," New York Times (Aug. 26).

Institute of Medicine Committee on the Consequences of Uninsurance. 2004. "Insuring America's health: Principles and recommendations." Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured. 2008. "The uninsured: A primer." Washington, DC: Kaiser Family Foundation.

Jost, Timothy S. 2004. "Why can't we do what they do? National health reform abroad," Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics, 32 (Fall): 433-441.

Park, Edwin. 2008, "An examination of the Wyden-Bennett health reform plan," Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (Sept. 24).

Schoen, Cathy, et al. 2008. "How many are underinsured? Trends among U.S. adults, 2003 and 2007," Health Affairs, 27 (4): w298-w309.

Wilper, Andrew P., et al. 2008. "A national study of chronic disease prevalence and access to care in uninsured U.S. adults," Annals of Internal Medicine, 149 (3): 171-177.

Cohn, Jonathan. 2007. "What's the one thing big business and the left have in common?" New York Times Magazine (April 1).

Krugman, Paul 2007. "A socialist plot," New York Times (Aug. 27).

Mankiw, N. Gregory. 2007. "Beyond those health care numbers," New York Times (Nov. 4).

Porter, Michael E., and Elizabeth Olmsted Teisberg. 2004. "Redefining competition in health care," Harvard Business Review, 82 (June): 64-72.

Arrow, Kenneth J. 1963. "Uncertainty and the welfare economics of medical care," American Economic Review, 53 (5): 941-973.

Cutler, David M. 2004. Your Money or Your Life. New York: Oxford University Press.

Starr, Paul. 1983. The Social Transformation of American Medicine. New York: Basic Books.

4. Income, Inequality, and Injustice (Nov. 9, 11, 16, 18, 23. NOTE: No class Nov. 25)

Fourth paper assignment posted Nov. 18, due in lecture Nov. 30)

* U.S. Census Bureau. 2009. Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2008. Read pp. 5-19.

* Leonhardt, David. 2008. "For many, a boom that wasn't," New York Times (April 9).

* Ehrenreich, Barbara. 2009. "Is it now a crime to be poor?" New York Times (Aug. 9).

* Traub, James 2000. "What no school can do," New York Times Magazine (Jan. 26).

* Brooks, David. 2008. "The biggest issue," New York Times (July 29).

* Wilson, William J. 2009. "More than just race: Being black and poor in the inner city," Poverty & Race Research Action Council, 18 (May/June).

* Hout, Michael. 2004. Review of The Hidden Cost of Being African American: How Wealth Perpetuates Inequality,by Thomas M. Shapiro. Washington Post (Feb. 15).

* Kotz, Nick. 2005. "Review of When Affirmative Action Was White, by Ira Katznelson," New York Times (Aug. 28).

* Krueger, Alan B. 2002. "Sticks and stones can break bones, but the wrong name can make a job hard to find," New York Times (Dec. 12).

* Dickerson, Debra. 1999. "Pennies from hell," Village Voice (May 4). (Review of No Shame in My Game, by Katherine Newman.)

* Morin, Richard. 2001. "Misperceptions cloud whites' view of blacks," Washington Post (July 11), p. A1.

* Kurth, Joel. et al. 2001. "Region is diverse, not mixed: Metro Detroit is most segregated area in nation, census shows," Detroit News (April 1).

* Haskins, Ron, and Isabel V. Sawhill. 2003. "Work and marriage: The way to end poverty and welfare." Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.

* Parrott, Sharon, and Arloc Sherman. 2006. "TANF at 10: Program results are more mixed than often understood." Washington, DC: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

* Tritch, Teresa. 2006. "The rise of the super-rich," New York Times (July 19).

* Stille, Alexander. 2001. "Grounded by an income gap," New York Times (Dec. 15).

* Bartels, Larry M. 2008. "Inequalities," New York Times (April 27).

Blank, Rebecca, and Brian Kovak. 2008. "Helping disconnected single mothers." Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.

Heckman, James J., and Dimitriy V. Masterov. 2007. "The productivity argument for investing in young children," Review of Agricultural Economics, 29 (3): 446-493.

Dobbie, Will, and Roland G. Fryer, Jr. 2009. "Are high-quality schools enough to close the achievement gap? Evidence from a bold social experiment in Harlem" (unpublished manuscript, Harvard University).

Rothstein, Richard 2001. "Reducing poverty could increase school achievement," New York Times (March 7).

Neckerman, Kathryn, ed. 2004. Social Inequality. New York: Russell Sage. Introduction, pp. xvii-xxvi.

Reich, Robert. 1991. "The secession of the successful," New York Times Magazine, (Jan. 20): 16-17+.

Blank, Rebecca M. 2003. "Selecting among anti-poverty policies: Can an economist be both critical and caring?" Review of Social Economy, 61 (4): 447-470.

Zedlewski, Sheila R. 2003. "Work and barriers to work among welfare recipients in 2002." Washington, DC: Urban Institute.

Holzer, Harry J., Paul Offner, and Elaine Sorensen 2004. "Declining employment among young black less-educated men: The role of incarceration and child support." Madison, WI: Institute for Research on Poverty.

Anonymous. 2002. "A stigma that never fades," Economist (Aug. 10).

DiIulio, John J. 1999. "Two million prisoners are enough," Wall Street Journal, March 12.

Western, Bruce. 2006. Punishment and Inequality in America. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. Introduction.

Moffitt, Robert A. 2002. "From welfare to work: What the evidence shows." Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.

Rector, Robert E. 2007. "How poor are America's poor? Examining the 'plague' of poverty in America." Washington, DC: Heritage Foundation.

Rose, Stephen J., and Heidi I. Hartmann. 2004. Still a Man's Labor Market: The Long-Term Earnings Gap. Washington, DC: Institute for Women's Policy Research. Executive summary. (The full report is also available on the Web.)

Ehrenreich, Barbara. 2009. "A homespun safety net," New York Times (July 12).

Smith, Joel J. 2007. "26,000 apply for 1,000 casino jobs," Detroit News (March 28).

Piketty, Thomas, and Emmanuel Saez. 2006. "Income inequality in the United States, 1913-2002." In A. B. Atkinson and Thomas Piketty, eds. Top Incomes over the Twentieth Century. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Saez, Emmanuel. 2009. "Striking it richer: The evolution of top incomes in the United States (Update with 2007 estimates)."

Krugman, Paul 2002. "For richer," New York Times Magazine (Oct. 20).

Haskins, Ron. 2008. "Wealth and economic mobility." Ron Haskins et al., eds. Getting Ahead or Losing Ground: Economic Mobility in America. Washington, DC: Brookings.

Bartels, Larry M. 2008. Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

DeParle, Jason. 2004. American Dream. New York: Viking.

Kozol, Jonathan. 2005. The Shame of the Nation. New York: Crown Books.

Lang, Kevin. 2007. Poverty and Discrimination. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Shipler, David K. 2004. The Working Poor: Invisible in America. New York: Knopf.

Rank, Mark Robert. 2005. One Nation, Underprivileged: Why American Poverty Affects Us All. New York: Oxford University Press.

Frank, Robert. 2007. How Rising Inequality Harms the Middle Class. Berkeley: University of California Press.

U.S. Census Bureau -- latest information on poverty in the U. S.

The Urban Institute -- extensive research on poverty, income, welfare, and work

5. The U.S. in a Global Context: Trade, Immigration, and Development (Nov. 30, Dec. 2, 7, 9, 14)

Fifth paper assignment posted Dec. 9, due Friday, Dec 18, 4:45 pm

A. Global Trade

* Deardorff, Alan V., and Robert M. Stern. 2002. "What you should know about globalization and the World Trade Organization," Review of International Economics, 10 (August): 404-423.

* Rodrik, Dani. 2002. "Globalization for whom?" Harvard Magazine, 104 (6): 29.

* Friedman, Thomas L. 2005. "It's a flat world, after all," New York Times Magazine (Apr. 3).

* Blinder, Alan S. 2006. "Offshoring: The next Industrial Revolution?" Foreign Affairs, 85 (2): 113+.

* Blinder, Alan S. 2008. "Stop the world (and avoid reality)," New York Times (Jan. 6).

* Krugman, Paul. 2006. "Debt and denial," New York Times (Feb. 13).

* Chinn, Menzie D. 2005. "Getting serious about the twin deficits." Washington, DC: Council on Foreign Relations.

Bureau of Economic Analysis. 2009. "Annual revision of the U.S. international accounts" (July).

Berger, Suzanne. 2000. "Globalization and politics," Annual Review of Political Science, 3: 43-62.

Rosenberg, Tina. 2007. "Reverse foreign aid," New York Times (March 25).

Stokes, Bruce. 2007. "Gold sovereigns," National Journal (Sept. 1).

Stiglitz, Joseph E. 2006. Making Globalization Work. New York: W. W. Norton.

B. Immigration

* Fix, Michael E., and Jeffrey S. Passel. 2001, "U.S. Immigration at the beginning of the 21st Century." Washington, DC: Urban Institute.

* Lowenstein, Roger. 2006. "The immigration equation," New York Times Magazine (July 9).

* DeParle, Jason. 2007. "Should we globalize labor too?" New York Times (June 10).

* Huntington, Samuel P. 2004. "The Hispanic challenge," Foreign Policy (March/April).

Larsen, Luke 2004."The Foreign-Born Population in the United States: March 2003." Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau.

Borjas, George J. 1995. "Know the flow; nine immigration myths," National Review (April 17): 44-50.

Card, David. 2005. "Is the new immigration really so bad?" Economic Journal, 115 (507): F300-F323.

Congressional Budget Office. 2007. "The impact of unauthorized immigrants on the budgets of state and local governments." Washington, DC: Congressional Budget Office.

Freeman, Richard B. 2006. "People flows in globalization," Journal of Economic Perspectives, 20 (2): 145-170.

Anonymous. 2006. "Sticks, carrots and fences," The Economist (March 29).

Rauch, Jonathan. 2007. "A simpler, better immigration plan," National Journal (June 16).

Smith, James P. and Barry Edmonston, eds. 1997. The New Americans: Economic, Demographic, and Fiscal Effects of Immigration. Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences Press.

Pritchett, Lant. 2006. Let Their People Come: Breaking the Gridlock on Global Labor Mobility. Washington, DC: Center for Global Development. (Introduction)

Pew Hispanic Center -- High-quality research on the American Latino population

C. Global Poverty and Development

* World Bank. 2008. "World Bank Updates Poverty Estimates for the Developing World." Washington, DC: World Bank.

* Lacey, Marc. 2008. "Across globe, empty bellies bring rising anger," New York Times (April 18).

* Eviatar, Daphne. 2004. "Spend $150 billion per year to cure world poverty," New York Times Magazine (Nov. 7).

* Easterly, William. 2005. "A modest proposal," Washington Post (March 13). [Review of The End of Poverty, by Jeffrey Sachs]

* Collier, Paul. 2007. The Bottom Billion. New York: Oxford University Press. Read Chapter 11, "An Agenda for Action."

Kristof, Nicholas D. 2005. "Land of penny pinchers," New York Times (Jan. 5).

Barboza, David. 2008. "China unveils sweeping plan for economy," New York Times (Nov. 10).

Sachs, Jeffrey D. 2001. "The strategic significance of global inequality," Washington Quarterly, 24 (3): 187-198.

Easterly, William. 2003. "Can foreign aid buy growth?" Journal of Economic Perspectives, 17 (3): 23-48.

Birdsall, Nancy, Dani Rodrik, and Arvind Subramanian. 2005. "How to help poor countries," Foreign Affairs (July/Aug.).

Marglin, Stephen A. 2003. "Development as poison," Harvard International Review, 25 (Spring): 70-75.

Kristof, Nicholas D. 2006. "Aid: Can it work?" New York Review of Books, 53 (Oct. 5).

United Nations Development Programme. 2005. Human Development Report, 2005. Chapter 1. "The state of human development."

Easterly, William. 2006. White Man's Burden. New York: Penguin.

Sachs, Jeffrey D. 2008. Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet. New York: Penguin.

Sen, Amartya. 1999. Development as Freedom. New York: Penguin.

World Bank website