Do Something | Terms You Should Know About The Government and Politics

These are all words that you'll come across on the news, in papers, and by elected officials. Read below to find out what they mean. These definitions are not taken from a dictionary (so they're not as boring).

General Words

Apathy

Noun; Not caring about anything that matters. Think of lazy people that aren't interested in anything. Couch potatoes.

Censorship

Limiting people from expressing themselves through books, plays, music, newspapers, and speech because it is considered morally or politically wrong.

Civic

Having to do with citizens or being part of a city (state or country).

Party

a group of persons with common political opinions and purposes organized for gaining political influence and governmental control and for directing government policy

Social Security

A retirement plan (money for people who are done working) run by the government and funded through wage (Income) and other taxes.

Welfare

Began after the Great Depression (1930-1939) to help people without jobs. 'Welfare' includes direct money given for: food stamps, workfare programs, Medicare and Medicaid (Health insurance).

The Government

Bi-Partisan

‘Bi’ means two and ‘partisan’ means member. A bi-partisan issue or topic means that both major political parties (Republicans & Democrats) agree

Bill of Rights

These are rights guaranteed to every citizen under the constitution of the U.S. Find out what your specific rights are as a young adult.

Bureaucracy

A system of managing an organization (a government or business) that strictly follows fixed procedures that usually create delays. Pretend you’re trying to get to the center of an onion, but first you have to hand-peel each layer one-by-one (which is annoying because onions make you cry). That is an example of a bureaucratic system.

Welfare

Federal Government: is the government that oversees all of the (federated) states. It is comprised of three branches: Executive, Legislative, and Judicial.

Executive: The President and his Cabinet (very important staff)
Legislative: Congress, Senate, and the House of Representatives
Judicial: Supreme Court, Judges

Incumbent

The person who has been in an elected position for one or more terms

Money, Money, Money

Capitalism

Created by Adam Smith, an economic system where every business is out for itself. Kind of like being in the jungle where all the animals fight to survive and no one steps in to help the weaker animals. The U.S. is called a ‘capitalist’ country even though our government controls a lot of the economy.

Fiscal

Anything dealing with money is a fiscal matter.

National Debt

Amount of money the Federal Government owes people, countries, and companies. Watch it grow...

Stocks:

A single stock is called a share and every major company allows people to buy shares of their company for money. 1 share represents a tiny fraction of a company (like 1/billionth). Every share has a price that is listed on the stock market and these prices change depending on how popular (successful) the company is.

Taxes

Percent or amount of money taken from every type of profit made in the U.S. (Jobs, Sale of bubble gum, winnings from the lottery, etc.). The amount of money taken depends on how much money people make but is usually around 35% for income. Really popular old person joke: “There are two certainties in life; Death and Taxes”:Ben Franklin

The 'Dow'

Short for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, is a very important list of companies that are in the U.S. stock market. When the 'Dow' goes up it means that the average for 1 share of every stock listed has increased. During the Great Depression the 'Dow' crashed and all of the stocks listed were worth very little.

The Economy

Economics deals with supply and demand of everything that costs money (including money). 'The Economy' refers to the general state of all the businesses that operate in the U.S. (or Canada) and is especially related to the supply/demand of jobs.

Political beliefs

Conservatives

Tend to prefer lowering taxes to allow the citizens to spend their own money on the services they need.

Liberal

Tend to prefer higher taxes so that the government can provide more public services.

Moderate

Is a balance in between both conservative and liberal. Think middle of the political spectrum (range).

Political parties

Democratic Party

Usually have liberal beliefs on the role the Government should have. Here is their site: http://www.democrats.org/ Green Party: First entered a candidate for presidential nominee in 1996 (Ralph Nader). It favors all environmental issues and government support of social needs. Here is their site: http://www.gp.org/

Reform Party

Seeks to reform the tax, healthcare system, and set high ethical standards for elected officials. Here is there site: http://www.reformparty.org/

Republican Party

a.k.a. the Right Wing or Grand Old Party (GOP): Usually support conservative beliefs on what the government should do. Here is their site: http://www.rnc.org/

Want to see every political party in Canada? Click Here
Want to see every political party in the U.S.? Click here

General Words

Apathy

Censorship

Civic

Party

Social Security

Welfare

The Government

Bi-Partisan

Bill of Rights

Bureaucracy

Welfare

Incumbent

Money, Money, Money

Capitalism

Fiscal

National Debt

Stocks:

Taxes

The 'Dow'

The Economy

Political beliefs

Conservatives

Liberal

Moderate

Political parties

Democratic Party

Reform Party

Republican Party

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