Government in America People, Politics, and Policy

"This edition of Government in America explains the reasons we have such a difficult time resolving differences over public policy and the stakes we all have in finding solutions to the challenges facing our nation. We frame its content with a public policy approach to government in the United States and continually ask-and answer-the question, "What difference does politics make to the policies that governments produce?" It is one thing to describe the Madisonian system of checks and balances and separation of powers or the elaborate and unusual federal system of government in the United States; it is something else to ask how these features of our constitutional structure affect the policies that governments generate. The essence of our approach to American government and politics is that politics matters. The national government provides important services, ranging from retirement security and health care to recreation facilities and weather forecasts. The government may also send us to war or negotiate peace with our adversaries, expand or restrict our freedom, raise or lower our taxes, and increase or decrease aid for education. In the twenty-first century, decision makers of both political parties are facing difficult questions regarding American democracy and the scope of our government"--