Module 1

How does government operate at the state and local level?

What ways can citizens influence government to act in their interests?

How does Congress operate?

What qualities separate successful Presidents from unsuccessful ones?

What role does the Supreme Court play in the everyday lives of American citizens?

How does the very design of American government encourage compromise, deal making, and a slow deliberative process?

What role does politics play in lawmaking?

How has the size and scope of the Federal Government evolved over time?

Module 2

How do you manage to save money?

How do you maintain/afford some luxuries without sacrificing necessities?

How do you avoid problems in personal cash flow, spending & borrowing?

How can you readjust your lifestyle in order to maximize financial freedom without trading off too much?

How are our everyday lives touched by products from large companies?

How did the major corporations that dominate the US economy get started and grow?

What are the responsibilities connected with paying taxes and record keeping?

What do stocks and mutual funds represent, and how do investments in them work?

What kinds of ways are there to evaluate choices among possible investments in stocks or mutual funds?

What sorts of investment choices are better for short term goals? For long term goals?

How can the success and power of a large corporation enrich the lives of people besides their investors?

How can the success and power of a large corporation hurt and/or damage society?

Module 3

What ways can citizens influence government to act in their interests?

How are political viewpoints on specific issues related to ideology and worldview?

How does information flow in American society? What sorts of critical skills are necessary in interpreting all the competing messages?

What ways do economic forces drive societal behavior?

In what ways do government regulations on those economic forces alter societal behavior?

How do competing theories of human behavior affect the design of public policy?

What historic examples can be used to understand the relationship between policy and outcome?

How is much of American political debate driven by underlying philosophies relating to views on human nature?

Module 1

Informed participants are vital to a working democracy

Each citizen can affect the direction of society at the local, state & federal level

Our branches of government each uphold the content of the US Constitution

Politics & public opinion have a great effect on the actions of people in all three branches, though with varying degrees

The branches’ abilities to block each other most often forces compromise and slows the process down

Much of the language of the Constitution and Bill of Rights limits government power

The people are the ultimate check on all three branches of American government

Module 2

Monitoring spending is essential to controlling it

Delineating necessities from luxuries is a main priority

Credit cards can help or hurt

Saving & developing a saving plan are indispensable to attaining financial independence

In our society, wealth buys freedom, opportunity and increases choice

Trade-offs are involved in economic decision making

The bulk of our everyday lives reflects the ubiquity of products from large corporations

Companies & corporations have a life cycle and general pattern of growth and development

Stocks and Mutual Funds offer investors ways to profit from the success or failure from companies

Individuals should design investment styles based on their tolerance of risk

Corporations can enrich the lives of a society and also abuse their power and cause damage

Module 3

Economic theory is reflective of a general world view and view of humankind

Interest groups and political parties are vehicles for citizens to make a difference

Voters are bombarded with conflicting information vying for their vote

Historically, different economic theorists have had different ideas on what drives human behavior

Public policy is often driven by economic concerns and designed reflecting them

Since the economic concerns driving public policy spring from a view of human behavior, many specific political debates can be understood in that framework

Understanding the underlying philosophies behind policy choices makes one a more informed voter and citizen