Final Exam SG

State & Local Government / Andrews

Spring 2017

Final Exam Study Guide

If you can discuss the following subject areas and apply your knowledge to the kinds of scenarios listed below, you should do well on the final:

1)    You should be able to discuss the different types of local governments, and describe under what circumstances it might be appropriate to form a regional government.

2)    Both Plan Bay Area and the Association of Bay Area Governments have been criticized as efforts toward establishing unelected “regional governments” capable of making decisions that will affect Bay Area residents. Is this criticism warranted? Using the internet to learn about these two iniatives, you should be able to apply your knowledge of the issues surrounding regional governments to answer the question.

3)    Explain what special districts are, and why they can be both necessary and controversial.

4)    Bureaucracy is beautiful. Discuss.

5)    A budget is a statement of values. Is this a true statement? You should be able to discuss some examples that illustrate this idea, including examples of both money in and money out – i.e. where revenue comes from and what it is used for.

6)    Which city, town or rural area are you from (Benevolent City, St. Augustine, Whoville, Petra)? You should be able to describe the kinds of taxes that might be imposed on your residents, as well as the residents of the other three areas, and how these tax structures would or would not reflect the values of your communities.

7)    You should be able to solve a gerrymandering problem, demonstrating how an area can be redistricted such that the numbers are even but the result is unfair.