Civics & Economics

Top 100What every student should know to pass the Civics & Economics EOC

Goal 6

Goal 6: The learner will explain why laws are needed and how they are

enacted, implemented, and enforced at the national, state, and local levels.

Foundations of Law

• Code of Hammurabi – – the earliest legal code known in its entirety

• Ten Commandments – – ten injunctions given to Moses, serving as the

basis of Mosaic Law

• Justinian Codes – – the collections of laws and legal interpretations

developed under the sponsorship of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I

Types of Laws• Common law –

– a body of law based on judges’ decisions

• Criminal law – – the group of laws that tell which acts are

crimes, how accused persons should be tried in court, and how crimes should be punished

• Civil law – – the group of laws that help settle

disagreements between people

Types of Laws• Constitutional law –

– a body of statutory and case law based on, concerns, or interprets a constitution

• Administrative law – – the body of rules, regulations, orders, and decisions

created by administrative agencies of government 

• Statutory law – – the body of laws created by legislative statutes

• International law – – the body of rules that nations generally recognize as

binding in their conduct toward one another.

Creation of Laws

• The early leaders of our nation knew that it was important to establish a set of laws for the nation.

• Laws must be fair, reasonable, and understandable.

Lobbying Procedures

Interest groups work to convince senators

and representatives to support bills that help their members and to oppose bill that hurt them. This is done by hiring

lobbyists, people who represent interest groups.

Mass Media• Newspapers, motion pictures, radio,

television, and magazines, all of which have the technical capacity to deliver information to millions of people.

Consequences of Breaking the Law

• A major purpose of laws is to keep the peace and prevent violent acts.

• Laws set punishments that are meant to discourage potential criminals from such acts as murder, assault, or robbery.

Types of Punishments

• Probation

• Juvenile detention

• Community service

• House arrest

• Prison

• Boot camp

Criminal Trial Process1. Arrest –

- Police arrest and book suspect2. Preliminary Hearing –

- Suspect appears before a judge, bail is set3. Indictment –

- Grand jury hears evidence and formally charges the suspect with a crime

4. Arraignment – - Defendant pleads not guilty, trial date is set. OR Defendant pleads guilty and accepts a plea bargain.

5. Trial – - Prosecution and defense present cases to jury. Jury reaches verdict.

6. Acquittal – - Defendant found not guilty and goes free.

OR Sentencing –

- Defendant found guilty, judge sentences defendant.

Civil Trial1. Plaintiff’s attorney files a

complaint

1. Court sends a to defendant

2. Defendant’s attorney files a written answer

3. Attorneys for both sides exchange

4. Attorneys for plaintiff and defendant argue case in court

5. Court gives a verdict

Law Enforcement Agencies• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

• State Bureau of Investigation (SBI)

• Municipal or county law enforcement

Independent Agencies

There are three types of independent agencies: • Executive Agencies

are under the direct control of the President. (NASA, EPA)

• Regulatory Commissions make and carry out rules for certain business or economic activities. (FCC, CPSC)

• Government Corporations are like private businesses, but provide public services. (US Postal Service)

Regulatory Commissions• The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

monitors the purity, effectiveness, and labeling of food, drugs, and cosmetics.

• The Federal Communications Commission

• (FCC) makes rules for radio and television stations.

• The Consumer Product Safety Commission

• (CPSC) sets safety standards for products.

Informed Citizenry

• “Ignorance of the law is no excuse.”

Civics & Economics

Top 100What every student should know to pass the Civics & Economics EOC

Goal 7

Goal 7: The learner will investigate how and why individuals and groups make

economic choices.

Factors of Production

• Resources necessary to produce goods and services

• The four factors of production are

natural resources, labor, capital, and entrepreneurs.

Natural Resources

• Gifts of nature that make production possible

Labor

• Human effort directed toward producing goods and services

Capital

• Previously manufactured goods used to make other goods and services

Entrepreneurs

• Individuals who start new businesses, introduce new products, and improve management techniques

Scarcity

• Not having enough resources to produce all of the goods and services we would like to have

Trade-offs

• The alternative you face if you decide to do one thing rather than another

Opportunity Costs

• The cost of the next best alternative use of time and money when choosing to do one thing rather than another

Law of Diminishing Returns

• The tendency for a continuing application of effort or skill toward a particular project or goal to decline in effectiveness after a certain level of result has been achieved.

Marginal Utility

• The additional satisfaction a consumer gains from consuming one more unit of a good or service.

Productivity

• The degree to which resources are being used efficiently to produce goods and services

Specialization

• When people, businesses, regions and/or nations concentrate on goods and services that they can produce better than anyone else

Division of Labor

• The breaking down of a job into separate, smaller tasks to be performed individually

Needs

• Requirements for survival, such as food, clothing, and shelter

Wants

• Things we would like to have, such as entertainment, vacations, and items that make life comfortable and enjoyable

Cost-Benefit Analysis

• Economic model that compares the marginal costs and marginal benefits of a decision

Command Economy

• An economic system in which the major economic decisions are made by the central government

Market Economy

• An economic system in which individuals own the factors of production and make economic decisions through free interaction

Mixed Economy

• An economic system combining the characteristics of more than one type of economy

Traditional Economy

• An economic system in which the decisions of what, how, and for whom to produce are based on custom or habit

Civics & Economics

Top 100What every student should know to pass the Civics & Economics EOC

Goal 8

Goal 8: The learner will analyze features of the economic system of the

United States.

Economic Questions

• Economics is the study of how we make decisions in a world where resources are limited.

• WHAT to produce?

• HOW to produce?

• FOR WHOM to produce?

Free Enterprise System

• Economic system in which individuals and businesses are allowed to compete for profit with a minimum of government interference

Circular Flow Model

• Circular flow shows us that input from each sector and to each sector spurs on production and thus goods and services are created.

Supply

• The amount of goods and services that producers are able and willing to sell at various prices during a specified time period

• Law of Supply –

the principle that suppliers will normally offer more for sale at higher prices and less at lower prices

Demand

• The desire, willingness, and ability to buy a good or service

• Law of Demand –

the concept that people are normally willing to buy less of a product if the price is high and more of it if the price is low

Types of Income

• Wages –

Payment for labor or services to a worker, especially remuneration on an hourly, daily, or weekly basis or by the piece.

• Salary –

Fixed compensation for services, paid to a person on a regular basis.

Surplus

• Situation in which quantity supplied is greater than quantity demanded

• Situation in which government spends less than it collects in revenue

Shortage

• Situation in which quantity demanded is greater than quantity supplied

Competition

• The struggle that goes on between buyers and sellers to get the best products at the lowest prices

Types of Businesses• Sole Proprietorship –

a business owned and operated by a single person

• Partnership – a business owned by two or more people

• Corporation – type of business organization owned by many people but treated by law as though it were a person

Labor Unions

• Association of workers organized to improve wages and working conditions

Investments

• An asset or item that is purchased with the hope that it will generate income in the future.

• In an economic sense, an investment is the purchase of goods that are used in the future to create wealth.

• In finance, an investment is a monetary asset purchased with the idea that the asset will be sold at a higher price in the future.

Civics & Economics

Top 100What every student should know to pass the Civics & Economics EOC

Goal 9

Goal 9: The learner will analyze factors influencing the United States economy.

Business Cycle

• Alternating periods of growth, and decline that the economy goes through

Economic Indicators

• Series of statistical figures, such as the consumer price index or the gross domestic product, used by economists to predict future economic activity.

Consumer Price Index

• An index of prices used to measure the change in the cost of basic goods and services in comparison with a fixed base period. Also called cost-of-living index.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

• The total market value of all the goods and services produced within the borders of a nation during a specified period.

Government Regulation

• A regulation is a legal restriction promulgated by government administrative agencies through rulemaking supported by a threat of sanction or a fine.

• Common examples of regulation include attempts to control market entries, prices, wages, pollution effects, employment for certain people in certain industries, standards of production for certain goods and services.

Globalization

• Individuals and nations working across barriers of distance, culture, and technology

Downsizing

• To become smaller in size by reductions in personnel

Regional Economic Issues

• North Carolina’s furniture and textile industries have been affected by globalization. Many factories in North Carolina have closed.

Tariffs

• A customs duty; a tax on an imported good

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

• An agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico to establish free trade. It took effect in 1994 and is designed to eliminate trade barriers between the three nations by 2009.

World Trade Organization (WTO)

• An international organization based in Geneva that monitors and enforces rules governing global trade 

European Union (EU)

• An economic and political union established in 1993 by members of the European Community.

• The establishment of the European Union expanded the political scope of the European Economic Community, especially in the area of foreign and security policy, and provided for the creation of a central European bank and the adoption of a common currency, the euro.

Federal Reserve System

• A U.S. banking system that consists of 12 federal reserve banks, with each one serving member banks in its own district. This system, supervised by the Federal Reserve Board, has broad regulatory powers over the money supply and the credit structure.

National Debt

• The debt of the government; the amount of borrowing by the government to meet expenditures exceeding tax revenues.

Inflation

• Sustained increase in the general level of prices

Civics & Economics

Top 100What every student should know to pass the Civics & Economics EOC

Goal 10

Goal 10: The learner will develop, defend, and evaluate positions on issues

regarding the personal responsibilities of citizens in the American constitutional

democracy.

Civic Responsibilities

• It is comprised of actions and attitudes associated with democratic governance and social participation.

• Civic responsibility can include participation in government, church, volunteers and memberships of voluntary associations.

Discrimination

• Unfair treatment based on prejudice against a certain group

Freedom

• Freedom emphasizes the opportunity given for the exercise of one's rights, powers, desires, or the like: freedom of speech or conscience; freedom of movement.

Public Problems• Under employment• Education needs• Graft and corruption• Citizen apathy• Disease• Poverty• Substance abuse• Discrimination• Waste Disposal• Homelessness• Crime• Pollution

Choices

• The power, right, or liberty to choose