Economic Policy Brief Assignment

PADM 550

Economic Policy Brief Assignment Instructions

Overview

The purpose of this assignment is to apply the May, Can, should model through analysis of a specific U.S. economic or budgetary policy. An effective tool for finding this legislation is through www.govtrack.us and the cost of the legislation through the Congressional Budget Office at www.cbo.gov.

Instructions

For the analysis, this is best done in the following manner:

May

Application of the Biblical principles – when discussing the topic of the week, make sure to apply the Biblical principles discussed in question 1 of the Synthesis paper to the specific policy that you’re discussing. How does it meet natural law, inalienable rights, federalism, etc.?

Constitutional authority – what is the Constitutional authority for the federal government to get involved? Avoid the use of the General Welfare clause as it becomes a catch-all for anything that a politician wants to get passed.

Can

Political feasibility – what is the likelihood that the policy will become law? What is the political and social support for the policy?

Financial feasibility – what is the policy expected to do to the national debt or spending? For example, the new COVID stimulus just put us another $2 trillion in debt but was widely supported by both politicians and the public.

Practical feasibility – what are the logistical resources needed for implementation (buildings, personnel, new programs, etc.) and what are the steps for implementation (ex; the Affordable Care Act needed functional websites in order to be implemented, the lack of these created severe problems with implementation). 

Should

Relate this back to specific Biblical and Constitutional authorities and discuss whether or not the policy should be supported based on this and the feasibility of implementation.

The goal of this is to critically analyze an economic policy to objectively determine if the federal government should be legitimately involved in the policy being discussed and if the policy is right for the country.

You are expected to submit a 1 1/2–2-page paper (not including the title page, abstract, and reference page) in current APA format in which the May-Can-Should model is applied in the context of the policy focus. Be certain to emphasize a focused analysis of a particular federal policy (either already implemented or proposed) chosen from the policy concentration area for the assigned module. You must include citations from:

1. all of the required reading and presentations from the assigned module/week

1. all relevant sources from Module 1: Week 1 and Module 2: Week 2 (you MUST use the “Biblical Principles of Government” article), and

3–5 outside sources.
NOTE:
These sources should be focused on the problem and the piece of legislation, and you may find that you need more than just 3-5 sources to adequately research and discuss these items.

1. Please feel free to use the link provided in the assignment resources for the purposes of additional research.

Please ensure that you review and follow the provided Policy Brief Template found in these assignment resources.

Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.

Page 2 of 2

CAN:

“Feasibility”

SHOULD:
“Making the

Case”

Persuasive summary of the key issues supporting your decision to support or reject the
legislation. This is where you as a political leader speak to the heart.

Explaining why this is worthy of being focused on by your party (in light of what the party
is trying to accomplish in Congress)

Make the case knowing that you might be making enemies for supporting (or opposing)
this piece of legislation

Politics is a battle of ideas and agendas—how are you going to make the case knowing
that you might make enemies, and knowing that if your party leadership focuses on your
legislation, it might mean that someone else’s agenda will be stymied?

MAY:
“Authority”

 Is the piece of legislation
supported by Biblical principles?

 Is the piece of legislation in
keeping with the enumerated
powers listed in the
Constitution?

Political Feasibility: Does the bill have a chance of passing the House and Senate and
being signed by the President? What public opinion polls are relevant?

Financial Feasibility: How much would the legislation cost, particularly in light of current
budget constraints? What impact would there be on the economy?

Practical Feasibility: what are the key hurdles for implementing this legislation in terms of
timing, logistics, resources, and technology? As a lawmaker, you have to anticipate
those challenges in order to weigh the merits of the legislation.

Policy Brief Template

Your Paper Title

Your Name

Date

Class Name and Section

Dr. Christopher Sharp

Defining the Problem

One paragraph that discusses the problem, and introduces the policy that was written or passed to address the problem.

May

One brief paragraph for each:

Biblical guidelines and principles

Application of the Biblical principles – when discussing the topic of the week, make sure to apply the Biblical principles discussed in question 1 of the Synthesis paper to the specific policy that you’re discussing.  How does it meet natural law, inalienable rights, federalism, etc.?

Constitutional guidelines for federal and state involvement

Constitutional authority – what is the Constitutional authority for the federal government to get involved?  Avoid the use of the General Welfare clause as it becomes a catch-all for anything that a politician wants to get passed.

Can

One brief paragraph for each area:

Political Feasibility

Political feasibility – what is the likelihood that the policy will become law?  What is the political and social support for the policy?

Financial feasibility

Financial feasibility – what is the policy expected to do to the national debt or spending?  For example, the new COVID stimulus just put us another $2 trillion in debt but was widely supported by both politicians and the public.

Practical feasibility

Practical feasibility – what are the logistical resources needed for implementation (buildings, personnel, new programs, etc.) and what are the steps for implementation (ex; the Affordable Care Act needed functional websites in order to be implemented, the lack of these created severe problems with implementation). 

Should

Provide a summary of the key ideas of your analysis in support of your position. Must be based on the “May” and “Can” analysis. Offer a recommendation based upon the analysis. Relate this back to specific Biblical and Constitutional authorities and discuss whether or not the policy should be supported based on this and the feasibility of implementation.

References

Make sure to cite quotes in APA format with author, year, and page number or paragraph number if a web page. Also, make sure that your references are in APA format. A link to the Liberty University Writing Center is included in your assignment resources.

The Congressional Budget Office provides financial estimates of proposed bills. It is recommend
that you start with this site because it provides you with a summary of the bill and provides
financial analysis that you will need for your “Financial Feasibility” study.

You can use its search feature to find bills you would be interested in using for your policy brief.
From the main page, scroll down to the “Find Analyses” section and click the “Cost Estimates” link:

Use the search tool in the upper left hand corner to put in your search topic. It can be a specific bill,
or a general issue, like “abortion”.

Note that the search tool only works on a year-by-year basis, so if you do not know exactly what are
looking for, you will need to use the drop down menu to select different years. The CBO site
contains analyses as far back as 1998.

FINDING LEGISLATION

http://www.cbo.gov/

CONGRESS.GOV, provided by the Library of Congress: allows you to type in a key word (such as
abortion) and it will list any bills that are dealing with that issue and where it is in the approval
process.

OTHER RESOURCES

Access the Government Databases page for

 Lexis-Nexis Legal Search (provides federal and state case law)
 ProQuest Congressional
 Many other policy related sites

Government Research Guide

GovEngine: a privately run but free web site directory to the governments of all 50 states, including
their legislatures. From there students can find state laws & statutes.

https://www.congress.gov/

https://www.congress.gov/

http://www.liberty.edu/newlibrary/databases/?s=16

http://libguides.liberty.edu/content.php?pid=548824&sid=4519481

http://www.govengine.com/

Running head: H. R. 312 1

H.R. 312 “The Mars Exploration Act”

Kahlib J. Fischer

February 11, 2015

PADM 550-B01

Dr. Kahlib Fischer

H.R. 312 2

Defining the Problem

Space exploration has been limited since the moon landing to space station visits and the

deployment of the Hubble telescope and satellites (2015). In 2012, President Obama signed into

law H.R. 312, “The Mars Exploration Act” (2012). This bill provides funding for the

development and deployment of: 1) the “rovers”; 2) deep space transportation for humans; and 3)

laboratory and housing facilities on Mars (Robinson & Smith, 2012).

May

Biblical guidelines: Of course, the Bible says nothing about space exploration. Government is

charged primarily with protecting the inalienable rights of its citizens (Fischer). HR 312 does

not violate these rights. The Biblical notion of “sphere sovereignty” implies that there are other

spheres of society, such as non-profits and industry, which might be considered as participants in

space exploration (Monsma, 2008). In the past, space exploration has been linked to national

defense, for fear that other nations would gain the upper-hand in space and use that advantage

against American citizens (Neuhaus, 2012). Since government has a divine mandate to protect

its citizens, space exploration might be supported.

Constitutional guidelines: The “common defense” portion of the preamble supports passage of

this bill. Article 1 section 8 provides further points of support: the promotion of science and

progress, the development of a sound military, and the regulation of commerce with foreign

nations.

Can

Political Feasibility: Generally, the public favors further mars exploration and colonization

(Smith, 2014). The passage of the bill was largely bi-partisan, but a significant Republican

minority tried to block passage arguing that the funding was not present for the bill and that the

H.R. 312 3

President was merely doing this to distract from criticism of his health care legislation and other

scandals (Neuhaus, 2012). Since passage, some experts have argued that Mars colonization is

not obtainable as NASA is currently constructed and has argued for either repeal of HR 312 or

significant modification (Richards, 2015).

Financial feasibility: Total cost of the bill was estimated at $20.5 billion, according to the

Congressional Budget Office (“H.R. 312”). At the time of passage, Democrats and Republicans

were grappling with the debt ceiling crisis (Barnes, 2011).

Practical feasibility: The bill was set up to fund NASA efforts for Mars exploration over 20

years. The major challenge was the development of sufficiently fast and safe space travel for

humans (Geyer, 2012). Rovers have been sent to Mars, so, in effect, Phase 1 has been achieved.

Significant challenges exist for phases 2 and 3, however, as NASA grapples with developing the

proper technology for long-term space exploration and colonization (Richards, 2015).

Should

HR 312 passes the May portion of the analysis, with the caveat that government should allow for

business and non-profit participation. The Can portion of the analysis is more challenging,

simply because of current levels of deficit spending in the federal government as well as the

technological challenges. Nevertheless, HR 312 represents a legitimate area for government

involvement. Space exploration, if not simply for the sake of military defense, should continue

and thus government must be involved. We are not able to choose ideal times for something as

lofty and abstract as space exploration; yet it must remain a national priority.

H.R. 312 4

References

Barnes, A. (2011). The Debt ceiling crisis. National Review Online. Retrieved from

http://www.nro.com/dc_13

Fischer, K. Biblical principles of government [PDF document]. Retrieved from Lecture Notes

Online website: https://learn.liberty.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-6267706-dt-content-rid-

43218699_1/courses/PADM550_B01_201520/Biblical%20Principles%20of%20Govern

ment%281%29

Geyer, A. (2012). To mars and beyond. Space. 15(1), 52-56. doi:10.1108/03090560710821161

H.R. 312 (2012). The Mars Exploration Act. Congressional Budget Office. Retrieved from

www.cbo.gov.HR312.

Monsma, S. (2008). Healing for a broken world. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

Neuhaus, J. (2012). Mars madness. Space Exploration. Retrieved from

http://www.spaceex.com/mmhr312

Richards, D. (2015). The Mars question. Journal of Science and Politics, 10(2), 38-42. Retrieved

from http://www.jsp.org

Robinson, J. & Smith, B. (2012). What does HR 312 mean for the future of space exploration?

Journal of Science and Politics, 4(2), 3-12. doi:10.1108/988890560710821161

Sires, D. (2015, October 9). Has NASA lost its way? Popular Science, 8, 27-29.

Smith, R. (2014). Does the public even care? Space Exploration. Retrieved from

http://www.spaceex.com/pubhr312

http://www.nro.com/dc_13

https://learn.liberty.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-6267706-dt-content-rid-43218699_1/courses/PADM550_B01_201520/Biblical%20Principles%20of%20Government%281%29

https://learn.liberty.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-6267706-dt-content-rid-43218699_1/courses/PADM550_B01_201520/Biblical%20Principles%20of%20Government%281%29

https://learn.liberty.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-6267706-dt-content-rid-43218699_1/courses/PADM550_B01_201520/Biblical%20Principles%20of%20Government%281%29

http://www.cbo.gov.hr312/

http://www.spaceex.com/mmhr312

http://www.jsp.org/

http://www.spaceex.com/pubhr312

Defining the Problem

May

Can

Should

References

Running head: H.R. 312 1

H.R. 312 “The Mars Exploration Act”

Kahlib J. Fischer

February 11, 2015

PADM 550-B01

Dr. Kahlib Fischer

H.R. 312 2

Defining the Problem

Space exploration has largely been limited since the moon landing (Sires, 2015), includingto

space station visits and the deployment of the Hubble telescope and other satellites (2015). In

2012, President Obama, in conjunction with bi-partisan support, signed into law H.R. 312, “The

Mars Exploration Act” (2012). This bill provides funding for the development and deployment

ofhas three goals: 1) fund the development and deployment of Mars “rovers”; 2) fund the

development of space ships capable of sending humans to Marsdeep space transportation for

humasn; and 3) fund the development of and deployment of technology and housing needed to

create laboratory and housing facilities on the surface of Mars for astronauts and scientists

(Robinson & Smith, 2012).

May

Biblical guidelines: and principles

Of course, the Bible says nothing about space exploration, either specifically as it relates to

government’s role therein or generally. Therefore, we must focus on general themes from

Scripture about what government may or may not do. Government is charged primarily for with

protecting the inalienable rights of its citizens (Fischer). HR 312 does not violate these rights.

The Biblical notion of “sphere sovereignty” further implies that there are other spheres of

society, such as business, non-profits, and industry, which might be considered as relevant

participants in space exploration (Monsma, 2008). In the past, space exploration has been linked

to national defense, for fear that other nations would gain the upper-hand in space and use that

advantage against American citizens (Neuhaus, 2012). Since government has a divine mandate

to protect its citizens, space exploration might be supported. In summary, while there seems to

H.R. 312 3

be implicit Biblical support for the role of government in space exploration, participation with

non-governmental spheres should also be included.

Constitutional guidelines for federal and state involvement:

The “common defense” portion of the preamble supports the passages of this bill as it relates to

providing for the common defense. Article 1 section 8 provides further points of support: the

promotion of science and progress, the development of a sound military, and the regulation of

commerce with foreign nations.

Can

Political Feasibility:

Generally, the public favors further mars exploration and colonization (Smith, 2014). The

passage of the bill was largely bi-partisan, but a significant Republican minority tried to block

passage both in committee hearings and on the floor of the House, arguing that the funding was

not present for the bill and suggesting that the President was merely doing this to distract from

criticism of his health care legislation and other scandals (Neuhaus, 2012). Meanwhile, sSince

passage, some experts have argued that Mars colonization is not obtainable as NASA is currently

constructed and has argued for either repeal of HR 312 or significant modification (Richards,

2015).

Financial feasibility:

Total cost of the bill was estimated at $20.5 billion, according to the Congressional Budget

Office (“H.R. 312”). At the time of passage, Democrats and Republicans were grappling with

the debt ceiling crisis (Barnes, 2011).

Practical feasibility:

H.R. 312 4

The bill was set up to fund NASA efforts for Mars exploration over a 20 year period with

colonization being achieved by year 20. The major challenge was the development of

sufficiently fast and safe space travel for humans (Geyer, 2012). Mars Rovers have been sent to

Mars, so, in effect, Phase 1 has been achieved. Significant challenges exist for phases 2 and 3,

however, as NASA grapples with developing the proper technology for long-term space

exploration and colonization (Richards, 2015).

Should

HR 312 passes the May portion of the analysis, with the caveat that government should allow for

business and non-profit participation. The Can portion of the analysis is more challenging,

simply because of current levels of deficit spending in the federal government as well as the

technological challenges. Nevertheless, HR 312 represents a legitimate area for government

involvement. Space exploration, if not simply for the sake of military defense, should continue

and thus government must be involved. We are not able to choose ideal times for something as

lofty and abstract as space exploration; yet it must remain a national priority. Thus it is

recommended, despite persistent economic and foreign policy issues, that HR 312 not be

repealed; rather, modifications should be explored to allow for tax credits and other incentives to

allow industry to become involved (2015).

H.R. 312 5

References

Barnes, A. (2011). The Debt ceiling crisis. National Review Online. Retrieved from

http://www.nro.com/dc_13

Fischer, K. Biblical principles of government [PDF document]. Retrieved from Lecture Notes

Online website: https://learn.liberty.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-6267706-dt-content-rid-

43218699_1/courses/PADM550_B01_201520/Biblical%20Principles%20of%20Govern

ment%281%29

Geyer, A. (2012). To mars and beyond. Space. 15(1), 52-56. doi:10.1108/03090560710821161

H.R. 312 (2012). The Mars Exploration Act. Congressional Budget Office. Retrieved from

www.cbo.gov.HR312.

Monsma, S. (2008). Healing for a broken world. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

Neuhaus, J. (2012). Mars madness. Space Exploration. Retrieved from

http://www.spaceex.com/mmhr312

Richards, D. (2015). The Mars question. Journal of Science and Politics, 10(2), 38-42. Retrieved

from http://www.jsp.org

Robinson, J. & Smith, B. (2012). What does HR 312 mean for the future of space exploration?

Journal of Science and Politics, 4(2), 3-12. doi:10.1108/988890560710821161

Sires, D. (2015, October 9). Has NASA lost its way? Popular Science, 8, 27-29.

Smith, R. (2014). Does the public even care? Space Exploration. Retrieved from

http://www.spaceex.com/pubhr312

http://www.nro.com/dc_13

https://learn.liberty.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-6267706-dt-content-rid-43218699_1/courses/PADM550_B01_201520/Biblical%20Principles%20of%20Government%281%29

https://learn.liberty.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-6267706-dt-content-rid-43218699_1/courses/PADM550_B01_201520/Biblical%20Principles%20of%20Government%281%29

https://learn.liberty.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-6267706-dt-content-rid-43218699_1/courses/PADM550_B01_201520/Biblical%20Principles%20of%20Government%281%29

http://www.cbo.gov.hr312/

http://www.spaceex.com/mmhr312

http://www.jsp.org/

http://www.spaceex.com/pubhr312

Defining the Problem

May

Can

Should

References