"The framers of the U.S. Constitution created a blueprint for government unlike any other in history, maximizing individual freedom and building a powerful nation. But in times of ideological partisanship, their visionary purpose is often obscured by disinformation spread by pundits and politicians. How our government really works provides an antidote to such manipulations and misunderstandings. By examining divisive issues like federalism, checks and balances, activist vs. traditionalist judges, and the roles of Congress, the president, and the federal bureaucracy, it articulates what our framers meant and provides readers with an understanding of the way our system of government is intended to work"--P. [4] of cover.

The framers of the U.S. Constitution created a blueprint for government unlike any other in history, maximizing individual freedom and building a powerful nation. But in times of ideological partisanship, their visionary purpose is often obscured by disinformation spread by pundits and politicians. How Our Government Really Works provides an antidote to such manipulations and misunderstandings. By examining divisive issues like federalism, checks and balances, activist vs. traditionalist judges, and the roles of Congress, the president, the federal bureaucracy and the, it articulates what our framers meant and provides readers with an understanding of the way our system of government is intended to work. 2013 IPPY Awards - Silver Medal 2013 Next Generation Indie Awards - Finalist

Third Edition - updated, revised, and with appendices of the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the U.S. Constitution. The framers of the U.S. Constitution created a blueprint for government unlike any other in history, maximizing individual freedom and building a powerful nation. But in times of ideological partisanship, their visionary purpose is often obscured by disinformation spread by pundits and politicians. "How Our Government Really Works" provides an antidote to such manipulations and misunderstandings. By examining divisive issues like federalism, checks and balances, activist vs. traditionalist judges, and the roles of Congress, the president, the federal bureaucracy and the, it articulates what our framers meant and provides readers with an understanding of the way our system of government is intended to work.

In these contentious times, when many politicians and media outlets seek to hoodwink their audiences and spread disinformation, this award-winning book is the perfect antidote. It examines what the framers of the U.S. Constitution intended and the kind of government they envisioned, allowing you to make up your own mind about what is true or not.

The framers of the U.S. Constitution created a blueprint for government unlike any other in history, maximizing individual freedom and building a powerful nation. But in times of ideological partisanship, their visionary purpose is often obscured by disinformation spread by pundits and politicians. "How Our Government Really Works" provides an antidote to such manipulations and misunderstandings. By examining divisive issues like federalism, checks and balances, activist vs. traditionalist judges, and the roles of Congress, the president, the federal bureaucracy and the, it articulates what our framers meant and provides readers with an understanding of the way our system of government is intended to work.

A sobering account of a disenfranchised American working class and important policy solutions to the nation’s economic inequalities One of the country’s leading scholars on economics and social policy, Isabel Sawhill addresses the enormous divisions in American society—economic, cultural, and political—and what might be done to bridge them. Widening inequality and the loss of jobs to trade and technology has left a significant portion of the American workforce disenfranchised and skeptical of governments and corporations alike. And yet both have a role to play in improving the country for all. Sawhill argues for a policy agenda based on mainstream values, such as family, education, and work. While many have lost faith in government programs designed to help them, there are still trusted institutions on both the local and federal level that can deliver better job opportunities and higher wages to those who have been left behind. At the same time, the private sector needs to reexamine how it trains and rewards employees. This book provides a clear-headed and middle-way path to a better-functioning society in which personal responsibility is honored and inclusive capitalism and more broadly shared growth are once more the norm.

How insurgencies—enabled by digital devices and a vast information sphere—have mobilized millions of ordinary people around the world. In the words of economist and scholar Arnold Kling, Martin Gurri saw it coming. Technology has categorically reversed the information balance of power between the public and the elites who manage the great hierarchical institutions of the industrial age: government, political parties, the media. The Revolt of the Public tells the story of how insurgencies, enabled by digital devices and a vast information sphere, have mobilized millions of ordinary people around the world. Originally published in 2014, The Revolt of the Public is now available in an updated edition, which includes an extensive analysis of Donald Trump’s improbable rise to the presidency and the electoral triumphs of Brexit. The book concludes with a speculative look forward, pondering whether the current elite class can bring about a reformation of the democratic process and whether new organizing principles, adapted to a digital world, can arise out of the present political turbulence.

Acrimony and hyperpartisanship have seeped into every part of the political process. Congress is deadlocked and its approval ratings are at record lows. America's two main political parties have given up their traditions of compromise, endangering our very system of constitutional democracy. And one of these parties has taken on the role of insurgent outlier; the Republicans have become ideologically extreme, scornful of compromise, and ardently opposed to the established social and economic policy regime.In It's Even Worse Than It Looks, congressional scholars Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein identify two overriding problems that have led Congress -- and the United States -- to the brink of institutional collapse. The first is the serious mismatch between our political parties, which have become as vehemently adversarial as parliamentary parties, and a governing system that, unlike a parliamentary democracy, makes it extremely difficult for majorities to act. Second, while both parties participate in tribal warfare, both sides are not equally culpable. The political system faces what the authors call &"asymmetric polarization," with the Republican Party implacably refusing to allow anything that might help the Democrats politically, no matter the cost.With dysfunction rooted in long-term political trends, a coarsened political culture and a new partisan media, the authors conclude that there is no &"silver bullet"; reform that can solve everything. But they offer a panoply of useful ideas and reforms, endorsing some solutions, like greater public participation and institutional restructuring of the House and Senate, while debunking others, like independent or third-party candidates. Above all, they call on the media as well as the public at large to focus on the true causes of dysfunction rather than just throwing the bums out every election cycle. Until voters learn to act strategically to reward problem solving and punish obstruction, American democracy will remain in serious danger.

American government is in the midst of a reputation crisis. An overwhelming majority of citizens—Republicans and Democrats alike—hold negative perceptions of the government and believe it is wasteful, inefficient, and doing a generally poor job managing public programs and providing public services. When social problems arise, Americans are therefore skeptical that the government has the ability to respond effectively. It’s a serious problem, argues Amy E. Lerman, and it will not be a simple one to fix. With Good Enough for Government Work, Lerman uses surveys, experiments, and public opinion data to argue persuasively that the reputation of government is itself an impediment to government’s ability to achieve the common good. In addition to improving its efficiency and effectiveness, government therefore has an equally critical task: countering the belief that the public sector is mired in incompetence. Lerman takes readers through the main challenges. Negative perceptions are highly resistant to change, she shows, because we tend to perceive the world in a way that confirms our negative stereotypes of government—even in the face of new information. Those who hold particularly negative perceptions also begin to “opt out” in favor of private alternatives, such as sending their children to private schools, living in gated communities, and refusing to participate in public health insurance programs. When sufficient numbers of people opt out of public services, the result can be a decline in the objective quality of public provision. In this way, citizens’ beliefs about government can quickly become a self-fulfilling prophecy, with consequences for all. Lerman concludes with practical solutions for how the government might improve its reputation and roll back current efforts to eliminate or privatize even some of the most critical public services.

Friedman discusses a government system that is no longer controlled by "we, the people." Instead of Lincoln's government "of the people, by the people, and for the people," we now have a government "of the people, by the bureaucrats, for the bureaucrats," including the elected representatives who have become bureaucrats.