POLS 1101 1st Edition Lecture 4 Outline of Last Lecture I Coordination vs Prisoner s Dilemma II Another form of Prisoner s Dilemma Free Rider Problem III Tragedy of the Commons IV Government as a solution V Cost of Collective Action VI Designing Constitutions for Collective Action Outline of Current Lecture I II III IV V VI Delegation U S Constitution Foundations of Governance Dismantling Home Rule Setting up Government America s First Constitution The Articles of Confederation Current Lecture I Delegation Is a key way to control or mediate transaction costs involved with solving huge problems in our society and economy We delegate task of politics and policymaking to elected representatives in government o Principal Agent Theory Delegate important tasks to others because you cannot do them yourself Delegation brings agency loss difference between what you would ideally do and your agent actually does o Can be great or small o Hidden action and hidden information here makes it hard for you to monitor what they are doing o Ways to minimize agency loss o Screening Selection Make sure they will be good agent research o Monitoring This can be difficult They have expertise you do not you are busy doing other things o Punishment Take the task away from them This is easier if you know if they are doing a good job not always the case II III IV V When citizens aren t involved with politics it means that they delegate it all to the politicians U S Constitution The Constitution needs the government to address collective action problems but delegation to government risks agency losses o Huge problems under Articles of Confederation o Framers of the Constitution had 2 goals Create a government strong enough to solve certain collective action problems Somehow minimize agency losses to government o The Constitution embodies those solutions to both of those problems Imperfect solution it creates its own problems such as prisoner s dilemma Foundations of Governance America was a collection of colonies belonging to Britain Britain s main interest was a market for goods and supplier of raw materials Legacy of self government Colonies enjoyed high level of home rule each colony had its own government o Elected state legislatures Experienced Politicians o Legislatures taxed passed laws dealt with local issues o Britain appointed governors and judges Limitations of Home Rule o No experience regulating inter colony or foreign disagreements Dismantling Home Rule At the end of the Seven Years War Britain broke o Colonists required to share the burden taxes o Britain asserted power to impose taxes o Also began to violate home rule in colonies Stamp Act o Imposed tax on all printed materials o First non self imposed tax for the colonies o Organized resistance of ordinary citizens o Boston Tea Party Setting up a Government First Continental Congress o Passed resolutions condemning British taxes and administrative decrees o Was not the most organized o Declaration of American rights VI o committees of observation this is important in the long run because it helped connect the colonies together and helped them to grow closer Import boycotts Provided base for statewide conventions when colonial assemblies could not meet Foundation for network of activists delegates between colonies The Second Continental Congress o War broke out in the spring of 1775 Lexington and Concord o No legal authority to conduct war but coordination was required Thomas Paine s Common Sense was published in 1776 o It said Only in the creation of an independent republic would the people find contentment In the June of 1776 Richard Henry Lee called for creation of a new nation separate from Britain o Committee to draft resolution o Thomas Jefferson o Declaration of Independence America s First Constitution The Articles of Confederation America now an independent nation Second Continental Congress proceeded to create a new government Drafter the nation s first Constitution the Articles of Confederation Confederation o Highly decentralized o National government had limited authority from the states Created a new permanent Congress they were not experienced when it came to government and ruling over the people o Each state received one vote o No executive Branch Major laws required the endorsement of 9 of 13 states Amending the Constitution taxing required unanimous agreement Delegates sought to replicate the home rule they had lost o Suspicious of national authority Congress Authorized to o Requisition men and money from states o Borrow money and issue bills of credit o Fix uniform standards of weight and measurement o Adjudicate disputes between states upon state petition o Tax and other fundamental changes unanimous consent great idea on paper not so much in practice Congress Lacked Authority To o Compel states to meet military quotas free riding o Collect taxes directly from the people free riding o Compel states to pay their share of government costs free riding o Regulate interstate and foreign commerce coordination Led to bad economy bad trade deals The Confederation at War o States responsible for recruiting troops and outfitting them for battle o National Military Command organize fighting force o Congress Coordinator could borrow money but could not tax no administrative branch and they had no enforcement authority Gridlock by Design o Many difficulties during the war Most difficult Congress labored under a constitution designed to frustrate national action o No executive branch to enforce laws allowed States just free ride on others they didn t pay taxes when they passed laws didn t send funds and supplies for troops when needed to Almost lost the war if it wasn t for France o The Government couldn t coordinate trade and commerce bad economy States negotiated trade deals individually with other nations States with their currencies ended up slowing interstate trade
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