The Politics of Spending

e open-book/open-notes and contain 5 essay questions. Each question will require a 150-300 word, well-reasoned explanation and analysis. I’m

Epstein, Richard A. The classical liberal constitution: The uncertain quest for limited  government. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2014. ISBN: 9780674975460.  Rubin, Irene S. The politics of public budgeting: Getting and spending, borrowing and balancing. 9th ed. Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2019. ISBN: 9781544325057

QUESTION 1

What priority should health care tax dollars spent have in comparison to other programs and what should optimum level of spending be on health care? Is the U.S. spending the right amount, too much or too little, or are we spending too much money on the wrong things? Is the U.S. population getting too little health care for the amount of tax dollars being allocated because of the way the program is structured, the incentives, and the administrative costs?

QUESTION 2

Please fully explain the relationship between Article I, Section 8, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution and the expansion of the Federal Budget.

QUESTION 3

Irene Rubin uses the term “revenue politics.” Please fully explain the political nature of governmental actions that raise taxes. Please include an explanation of the general opposition to tax increases and the political strategies employed by those seeking to increase taxes to overcome that general opposition. 

QUESTION 4

Please fully explain how and why referendums are used strategically to affect state and local tax policy.

QUESTION 5

Rubin suggests “state governments have limited the amounts some local governments may borrow. These constraints have often been expressed as a percentage of the total assessed value of property in the governmental entity.” Analyze two approaches of how state governments maneuver around these limits.