Political Science > EXAM > POL-UA 300; ALHAM-UA 300 Power and Politics in America Midterm Examination 1: ANSWER KEY (All)

POL-UA 300; ALHAM-UA 300 Power and Politics in America Midterm Examination 1: ANSWER KEY

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New York University Wilf Family Department of Politics Spring 2014 Power and Politics in America (POL-UA 300; ALHAM-UA 300) Professor Christopher Dawes Midterm Examination 1: March 3, 2014 ANSWER KEY Short Essay (25 points) The following is a synopsis of a story in the New York Times on February 4, 2014. E.P.A. Staff Struggling to Create Pollution Rule In last month’s State of the Union address, President Obama pledged to issue new regulations to curb carbon pollution. The President has ordered the Environmental Protection Agency (E.P.A) to issue draft regulation by June 1, 2014 that will set a national standard for carbon pollution. The goal of the plan is to reduce carbon emissions about 83% below 2005 levels by regulating power plants. The regulation will primarily affect the 600 coal-fired power plants and will likely require hundreds of them to be shut down. Overall, coal supplies about 40% of the nation’s electricity, but states like Kentucky, Ohio, and Missouri rely on coal for 80% to 90% of their power. 1. What is the logic of the E.P.A., a federal agency, issuing such a regulation? Use ten to twelve sentences to discuss how the story illustrates relevant models of politics covered in class lectures and readings. Your response should clearly identify concepts and models of politics relevant to the story and explain how they apply to the story. True/False/Explain (4 points each) Indicate whether each of the following statements is true or false. If it is false, use two or three sentences explaining why. Strong answers will correctly reference theories and findings from class lectures and readings. 2. During the 1920s, hundreds of radio stations overcrowded desirable spots on the radio dial causing signal interference. The FCC was established in part to solve this classic coordination problem by licensing radio stations to occupy a particular spot on the radio spectrum. FALSE. THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS. SEE THE DISCUSSION ON PAGES 628-629. 3. Like the solution that each slave counts as three-fifths a citizen, the northern and southern states agreement on a constitutional ban on regulation of the slave trade until 1808, as well as the requirement that northern states return runaway slaves, was the result of compromise. FALSE. IT WAS THE RESULT OF A LOGROLL. SEE THE BOX ON PAGES 70-71. 4. The Literary Digest poll taken before the 1936 presidential election incorrectly predicted the election's outcome due to a large margin of error resulting from a small random sample. FALSE. THE INCORRECT PREDICTION WAS DUE TO A BIASED SAMPLE. SEE THE BOX ON PAGE 441. 5. If a candidate fails to receive an absolute majority of votes in the Electoral College, the election is thrown into the House of Representatives, where each state gets one vote and a simple majority is required to elect the president.

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