G15

(a) A balanced budget is a budget with equal revenues and expenditures.
(b) Federal entitlements are guaranteed benefits for people who meet requirements.
(c) One entitlement is social security. Because it is guaranteed no matter how large our governments debt is they have to provide this entitlement, which puts us in more debt because we spend even more money that we don't have. This puts a barrier on the federal government achieving a balanced budget because entitlements make us spend more than we have.
(d) A consequence of a large budget deficit is that we won't have money for government funded programs that are not entitlements.
(e) The GDP for 2013 is 16,335, it is projected we will spend 3808 billion dollars and take in 2902 billion making the deficit 901 billion. In 2012 our revenue was 2469 bil. and we spent 3769 bil. making the defecit 1327. http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2013/assets/tables.pdf

(f) Our nations total nation debt is about $16,532,994,976,487 and counting. http://www.usdebtclock.org/

G12

Substance: The POTUS had a lot to say tonight. Among those things, I felt he mostly stressed 3 things: Medicare, creating new jobs and climate change. He emphasized that he would accept reforms for medicare but would not take away the right of the elderly receiving proper and fair care. Although Medicare focuses on the elderly, Obama was able to connect it to "the children" (which is always a crowed favorite), and recognize that if we create a strong, stable system now then children now will have a promising future when it comes to health care. The POTUS also put emphasis on new jobs. Not only did he announce that big companies such as Ford and Apple were bringing jobs back to the US from foreign nations but also that he wants to create new jobs. He discussed climate change and brought up the fact that recent natural disasters, such as Hurricane Sandy and the many wild fires, are not coincidences  There is hard evidence that there is a cause and we can either ignore it or make it stop. He went on to press that in becoming a more climate-aware nation we could create many, many jobs in the clean energy sector. Benefiting our economy and earth.
Style: Obama is famous for his hand gestures, which were of no lack tonight. He uses his hands to animate conflicting subjects and stress the importance of change but also to recognize progress. I noticed he used the word "our" when describing the nation and government, making him seem more approachable and show that he does not think everything is about him. He used long pauses to create a dramatic effect and leave an impression. He phrased things in ways that didn't show bipartisanship, like when he talked about climate change he never said "global warming", a term disliked by many republicans.
Response: The POTUS received many standing ovations and it was interesting to see the way Joe Biden and John Boehner reacted to what he was saying because they were both directly behind him. There were many times when Biden would be on his feet applauding and Boehner just sat there, emotionless. The camera focused in on many different Congress people, a lot of whom were Republicans and most of their faces, not surprisingly  were also emotionless, like Boehner's. The camera also showed Harry Reed, Senate Majority Leader and the FLOTUS with her guest, the mother of a teenager who had been a victim of gun violence in Chicago. The camera also showed Guests like Tim Cooke, the CEO of Apple, who was all smiles after Obama said Apple would be making Macs in the U.S. once again.

G10

1. What seems to be the most important to the president is Social Security and Health Care. He is probably most concerned with these policy areas because Congress is so split on how they should be handled and Obama wants to stress the importance and highlight how much it would benefit the people to put the most money in social security and health.
2. The most notable changes in spending are Social Security and Medicare. Taking care of people's future seems to be of greater need now more than ever. With millions of troops returning home we won't need to spend as much money on the military and can use the money for the populations well being instead.
3. Congress will most likely oppose the spending cuts to the Agriculture Department and Defense Department, which Republicans (who hold the majority in Congress) are generally against. Congress will also not be happy about the estimated $901 billion dollar deficit.

G9

1. If I were given the job to reduce the budget deficit I would cut spending and raise taxes. I would cut spending in areas such as research for nuclear weapons and raise taxes on aotumatic gun sales. I would try to reduce the number of troops in foreign wars and give them jobs at home, reducing spending for the military and boosting the economy. Raising taxes on gun sales would hopefully decrease the amount that are bought and also help boost the economy. I think it is important to protect  programs that benefit a large portion of our country, like Planned Parenthood.

2. I wasnt able to cut enough spending or raise enough taxes to succesfully balance the deficit. I was a little confused on whether I was cutting or selecting proposals to be put in action.

G7

1. (a) Two reasons Congress gives agencies policy-making discretion in executing federal laws are 1) The people who work for an agency usually specialize in the area they work in and are much more knowledgeable on how laws should be carried out in that area than Congress is and 2) Congress does not have the time to look closely at each agency and the problems they come upon because there are so fewer Congressmen and women than there are bureaucratic agents.
1. (b) "It is up to the highway patrol officer who stops you yo choose whether to issue you a warning or a ticket (488)."
2. (a) The EPA makes regulations on  pollution. The FCC makes laws and regulations on media and communications.The FRB make laws and regulations on banking.
2. (b) The EPA regulates air emissions under the Clean Air Act. The FCC gives licenses to media owners. The FRB decides which banks it works with.
3. (a) Congress can take money away from tge agency or investigate the agency to ensure that agencies follow legislative intent.