PUBLIC POLICY Response Papers (due at the beginning of class, April 25)

INSTRUCTIONS: Your response paper should be relatively short: 2-3 pages,
double-spaced.  You do not have to fret over rules such as how to report
citations or what font size to use.  No folders, plastic covers, or other
enhancements are necessary.

ADVICE: Make sure you answer the question thoughtfully, in an organized way that
shows detailed familiarity with the readings.  If you summarize too much or
take up too much space with quotations, you are unlikely to have written a
good essay.  The emphasis should be on analysis and illustrating your
level of understanding (or your ability to identify clearly and
comprehensively what you do not understand about the readings).

Answer one of the following questions, drawing heavily on the assigned
readings for the topic:

1) Many Americans who oppose welfare nonetheless believe that the United
States should do more to help the poor.  Chapter 15 of FPV suggests that
the nation does not fund social programs very generously, which seems to
validate this opinion.  On the other hand, Funiciello argues that the
programs are not good ones, suggesting that giving them more money would
be wasteful.  What do you think?  Should we give more money to programs
that help the poor?  Defend your answer.

2) Posner and Huntington seem to take contradictory positions on the
sort of national security policy that the United States needs to adopt,
with Posner fairly optimistic and Huntington much more pessimistic.  Based
on what you've learned about U.S. foreign policy from FPV Chapter 15 as
well as the sliver of Chapter 11 on the nation's foreign-policy bureaucracy,
do you think the United States needs to toughen or soften its stance in
international affairs?  Or do you think we've found the right balance now?
Defend your answer.

3) The United States is running up serious budget deficits, forcing
hard choices about which policies to fund and how much to fund them.
In particular, foreign policies often compete with domestic policies
for money.  Based on what you've read, which direction should the
federal government take on the budget: increased spending on social
welare policies at the expense of defense, increased defense spending
at the expense of social programs, or increased taxes or borrowing to
fund both areas more generously?