What Are Your Biggest Questions About U.S. Government and Politics?

Why are there no requirements other than age to hold federal office? Lawyers do not understand Science issues. Should all Cabinet heads have a degree in their field?

Explain which elected offices can be recalled and how that process works. Is it uniform for all positions or is it dependent on each state? At what point did “career politicians” become a job position? Which government offices or positions have term limits? What are the challenges to implementing term limits across all offices or positions?

This might need to be for an economics version of this course, but... Presumably we all pay taxes (e.g., sales, property, income, etc) into government to make use of collective bargaining power to the benefit of the whole population. However, in the US, as the federal service declines and private contracting accelerates, the value to the taxpayer of paying taxes has likely declined. Do we have a metric that captures this experience, even in very broad strokes?

We often miss the trees for the forest in US politics these days: we're focused on big national elections, or perhaps state elections, but so much of our everyday lives is most impacted by *local* elections. Obviously the details of how these interoperate varies from state to state, but I would love to see local government feature in this series. For example, look at how corporate capture by Flock has led municipalities across the country to adopt new mass surveillance tech integrated into a centralized, privatized system. A lot can be done to change the fabric of our nation without needing to control the levers of federal power!

Why did we decide to let politicians vote for their own raises and things like whether or not they should be allowed to be bribed?

How likely is it that our politicians are unknowingly taking foreign money though lobbying groups -- and is it actually illegal for them to take foreign money?

What vestiges of pre-civil war policies are still in place in the federal government and why?

Why does the Second Amendment exist?

can states protect themselves from federal overreach?

If you want to be really brave: A history of bottom up organizing in the United States. Why do we celebrate Labor Day in September when the rest of the world celebrates May Day? Why did the government attack striking mine workers in West Virginia? What worked and what didn't during the Civil Rights Movement, and what lessons can we learn today? How about the fight for LGBTQ rights?What about the anti Vietnam War protests? Anti Iraq War? World Bank? Occupy? Black Lives Matter? No Kings? How do you change the world when you don't have power? Seems like a good lesson to teach the children when that's going to be the rest of our lives.

What does your local government control, versus state, versus federal? Who To Be Mad At is a complicated subject, but getting people used to finding and yelling at the RIGHT public officials with the actual power to do what they want will channel some productive energy.

Campaign contributions -- who can donate and how much and when? What are the current limits and when (er, I mean if) individuals or organizations get around them, how do they do it and what are the penalties for doing so (if any)? What can those donations be used for and what is not allowed? What happens to donations that aren't used during the campaign for which they were collected?

Two questions; why aren't sidewalks the responsibility of the government to maintain like roads and what are precinct chairs and how do they get funding?

If our government is blatantly ignoring crucial laws vital to its existence, how can it continue to exist?

If only congress can levy tariffs, why do administrators implement tariffs created by executive order? Shouldn't they be fired for not following procedures?

I am a teacher who was required to take an oath to the Constitution. What is the point of politicians and civil servants taking the oath? Is it purely a matter of tradition? Or is it a true obligation that a failure to uphold can lead to legal consequences?

How do we motivate people to prepare for collective action? #GeneralStrike2028

How come there are only 2 parties?

Another subject which there seems to be a lot of misunderstanding around is “unelected officials”: for example offices for which people are appointed by the president or governor (with or without senate confirmation) and those for which people are hired just like the private sector. Also judges are elected in some jurisdictions but appointed in others. Explain why these other officials don’t go through political elections and reasons why they shouldn’t be.

As I’ve been learning a lot about Modern Monetary Theory recently from a political economist in the UK, I’m curious how MMT applies in the US since we switched from the “gold standard” to a fiat money system in 1971. (Maybe that question is so big it needs its own series…?)

Is it still worthwhile to try to update the US Constitution or do we need a completely different one?

What are the rules that can't be simply ignored or changed by the next office holder? They're the only ones I care about. Are there any? Is there ANYTHING that we were taught in the 20th that wasn't a lie?

Is there any way to stop an extended military action initiated by the President but not authorized by Congress? Not relevant right now. Just asking for a friend.

Why does the US operate at such a huge deficit? What does it really mean and do all countries do this?

What's the real difference in the power levels of our federal and state governments? It seems like they routinely ignore each other on specific policy areas when there's a difference of opinion between the president and governor. Environmental regulations and law enforcement are two examples.

Exactly how corrupt is our government? Conspiracy theories abound, but I suspect reality is somewhere between propaganda and falsehoods.