G15

a. A balanced budget exists when what you pay equals what you spend/
b. Federal entitlements are guaranteed benefits for people who meet requirements.
c. Medicaid, a federal health insurance, is a federal entitlement. Entitlements such as Medicaid almost certainly prohibit a balanced budget because the government has to pay for lots of people's Medicaid, while those people aren't paying the government for this service.
d. A consequence of a large budget deficit is that we, as a country, invest less in research. There are so many things that come before research on the priority list that it becomes underfunded, However  research leads to our country moving forward in renewable energy, space exploration  etc.  When we are in lots od debt, our national innovation takes a step back.
e. The projected revenue from 2012 was 5.1 trillion dollars, according to http://www.usgovernmentrevenue.com/total_2012USrt_13rs1n , the total spending in 2012 was 6.2 trillion, according to http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/total_spending_2012USrn, and finally the national debt was 1,069 billion dollars in 2012, according to http://www.usgovernmentdebt.us/us_deficit.
f. Today's national debt is $16,432,705,914,000 according to http://www.usgovernmentdebt.us/

G12

The State of the Union 2013

• Here comes the president (POTUS)! 
• Shaking lots of hands 
• Some guy who has been sitting on the aisle for 25 SOTU... wow
• Many guests who have been victims of gun violence or are advocates of gun control 
• Michelle blew a kiss! Best couple ever 
• Green ribbons for Newtown victims, more gun control 
• "Partners for Progress"
• Troops coming 
• Economy- focus on creating a thriving middle class 
• Government cuts- bad idea, some republicans have an even worse idea. 
• Affordable Care Act
• Ask more from the wealthy, change how the government pays for healthcare based on the quality of care, and he is open to additional reform as long as it doesn't interfere with the promise of a secure retirement. 
• TAX REFORM
• For small businesses
• Romney joke? 
• Benefits for businesses who stay in the U.S. 
• They just showed the House Majority Leader, Eric Cantor
• Showed the Apple CEO
• 3D Printing in a small town in Ohio, launching this in three more towns 
• More on new technology, science, and innovation. 
• Invest in American energy 
• "Must do more to combat climate change" 
• Calling out John McCain and someone else but in a good way
• Companies say that if we fix our infrastructure companies will hire here
• Public works for repairing infrastructure
• Modern schools worthy of our children! 
• Invest in early childhood education  
• Make it so that high school diplomas come with an associates degree 
• COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM. Woah pulling out the big guns. And everyone stood up! Stronger boarder security, more boots on the southern border, a pathway to citizenship, legal system- kill the waiting period and track entrepreneurs
• WOMEN WOMEN WOMEN
• Senate just passed the violence against women act, House please do the same! (Increased to include Native Americans and LBGT women)
• Raise minimum wage to 9 dollars an hour  
• "Being a man is not having the ability to conceive a child but the courage to raise one."
• End of 2014, war in Afghanistan will be over 
• Counter terrorism efforts
• train the Afghans 
• Showed the attorney general! 
• No nuclear weapons for Iran as
• Gun reform- they deserve a vote. The worst story about the little girl who was in the choir. And they deserve a vote! 
• Showed the Gabbie Giffords. 
• Most of his guests are women... interesting 

Republican Response- Senator Marco Rubio

• He likes American, which is good because I do too 
• Free-enterprise economy makes the middle class good 
• Obama says it is the problem of the middle class, which he says is untrue 
• He is stresses little government involvement 
• 
  

G10

1. Most important to the President seems to be Social Security and Health Services. Combined these two programs are delegated almost 2 trillion dollars. And that is a lot of money.

2. The most drastic and new changes that Obama is proposing include slashing the Department of the Interior's budget by 200 million dollars and also increasing the Federal Highway Administration

3. Congress is most likely to oppose Obama's suggested Social Security and Health Services intense budget because some members of Congress aren't huge supporters of government health benefits. I wish luck to Obama, I'm rooting for him.

G9

1. In order to reduce the deficit, I think it would make the most sense to reduce government spending and also raise taxes. However, those aren't very pleasant things to mandate. To be specific, I would cut spending that goes towards light drug enforcement and also greatly cut the money used on nuclear weapons research. I would also raise income taxes only on the top 25% money making people in the country. It would be imperative that I avoid doing anything drastic, but instead something that over time will fix the deficit issue.

3. My budget plan was 65% raising taxes and 35% cutting spending. I reduced nuclear arsenal and space spending because I don't approve of nuclear arsenal and space exploration is moving towards more of an international effort. I reduced the number of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to 30,000 by the end of 2013 because I want more peace in this world. I also reduced social security for those with a high income to provide more benefits for those who had a low income.

G7

1 (a). Discretion in the political sense in the power to be able to make decisions that influence public policy. Congress allows policy-making agencies to have discretion in making federal laws for two reasons. The first is that they want to make sure that beneficial laws are passed. Congress can be very partisan and unfocused when it comes to certain issues because some members might not think that issue is important. However, the whole policy-making agency believes in the importance of their issue, and therefore is more likely to be productive and in a positive way. Also, Congress may not want to focus on little issues such as certain gas emissions, not to mention the fact that they may not be totally qualified. Therefore, it makes sense to delegate this decision to an informed, focused, determined agency.

1 (b). A quote that backs up that sometimes Congress members are simply not qualified, and that they are aware of it. "Congress is fond of stating a broad policy goal in legislation and then leaving implementation up to the bureaucracies" (484).

2 (a). EPA- deals with protecting the climate and environment  They create a lot of protections and regulations for businesses to follow. FCC- provides regulations on interstate and international communication. Federal Reserve Board- remains as the center of banking in the US

2 (b). The EPA regulates air emissions under the Clean Air Act. The FCC created 911, and that's very useful. The Federal Reserve Board recently (in January 2013) required the JP Morgan & Chase Co. to continue to take corrective action towards their instability and also said that they had to be willing to fully disclose everything.

3 (a). Congress has oversight, so they have the ability to investigate and demand reports from these agencies. This way they can keep tabs on them and make sure they are following their parameters. Also, congress has the power of the purse, meaning they control the money. If an agency wasn't cooperating, they could lose their funding.