GED Social Studies Contemporary Public Policy Summary

A fact can be proven true or false, such as a vote or a date. An opinion is a belief or judgment, often signaled by words like "best," "fairest," or "should." People can disagree about what is fair, so that sentence is an opinion.

Wrong choices

• "The plan would take effect in two steps, in 2027 and 2028.": The timing of the plan can be checked in the plan itself, so it is a fact.
• "The city council is voting on a plan to raise the minimum wage from $12 to $15 an hour.": Whether the council is voting on this plan can be checked, so it is a fact.
• None of the sentences; they are all facts.: One sentence gives a judgment ("fairest") that cannot be proven, so not all sentences are facts.

When two things rise together, they are correlated. That does not mean one causes the other. A third factor, such as city size, may cause both. GED questions often test whether you can tell correlation from causation.

Wrong choices

• Hiring police officers causes crime to rise: A relationship (correlation) does not prove cause. Large cities may simply have more people, more crime, and more police.
• Cities should cut police to reduce crime: This advice assumes police cause crime, which the data do not show.
• The data prove there is no relationship between police and crime: The data do show a relationship. They just do not show what causes it.

Public policy is what government decides to do, or not do, about a public issue. It includes laws, regulations, spending choices, and programs, such as rules for clean water or funding for highways.

Wrong choices

• A jury's decision in a court case: A jury decides one case. Public policy is a broader government plan.
• The rules a private company sets for its workers: Company rules are private policies, not public policy made by government.
• A political party's campaign slogan: A slogan is a message, not an action by government.

Local governments, such as cities and counties, handle many everyday services, including trash pickup, local roads, parks, and local police. States and the federal government handle broader issues.

Wrong choices

• The U.S. Department of State: The Department of State handles foreign affairs.
• The federal government: The federal government usually leaves day-to-day local services to local governments.
• The U.S. Supreme Court: The Supreme Court decides cases. It does not run local services.

A regulation is a rule that limits or guides what people or businesses may do. Limits on pollution are environmental regulations. They aim to protect health, but they can also raise costs for the businesses that must follow them.

Wrong choices

• Foreign policy: Foreign policy is about relations with other countries.
• A tax refund: A tax refund returns money to taxpayers. This law sets limits on pollution.
• Monetary policy: Monetary policy is about the money supply and interest rates, set by the Federal Reserve.

Senator A focuses on the dam's benefits. Senator B focuses on its costs. Public policy debates often look like this: both sides may accept the same facts but weigh benefits and costs differently.

Wrong choices

• They agree on everything except the dam's location: Neither senator mentions location. They focus on different effects.
• They both support building the dam: Senator B lists harms, so Senator B does not seem to support the dam.
• They both oppose building the dam: Senator A lists benefits, so Senator A does not seem to oppose the dam.

To judge whether a policy worked, look for data that measure the goal before and after the change. Using deaths per mile driven, and checking that other things stayed about the same, makes the comparison fairer.

Wrong choices

• The number of people who have heard about the law: Knowing about the law does not show whether deaths went down.
• A poll showing that most people like the law: Liking a law does not show whether it worked.
• A speech by the governor praising the law: A speech gives an opinion, not evidence about results.