JB's APÂ
U.S. GOVERNMENT
MAJOR ISSUES AND PUBLIC POLICY AREAS EXPLAINED
Click below for video presentations of explanations, insights, and perspectives on major public policy topics and issues.
Federal Budget / Spending
Federal Budget / Spending Explained
Controlling Federal Spending - Conservative Perspective
Balanced Budget Amendment - Conservative Perspective
National Debt - Liberal Perspective
Federal Budget - Last Week Tonight
(Viewer Discretion is Advised)
National Debt - Last Week Tonight
(Viewer Discretion is Advised)
Taxes
(Note: Uses United Kingdom System)
Tax Policy - Liberal Perspective
Tax Policy - Conservative Perspective
Our Troubling Tax System - Cato Institute
Corporate Taxes - Last Week Tonight
(Viewer Discretion is Advised)
Health Care
American Health Care System Explained
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) Explained (2013)
History of Health Care Regulation
National Federation of Independent Businesses v. Sebelius (2010) Explained
"What's Wrong With Government-Run Health Care?"
Why Health Care is Expensive - Liberal Perspective
Why Health Care is Expensive - Conservative Perspective
Medicare for All - Last Week Tonight
(Viewer Discretion is Advised)
Mental Health - Last Week Tonight
(Viewer Discretion is Advised)
Birth Control and Abortion
History of Birth Control - TIME
Griswold v. Connecticut Explained
Justice Antonin Scalia Discusses Roe v. Wade
Planned Parenthood v. Casey Explained
Roe v. Wade and Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Compared
Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Explained through "Ordered Liberty"
Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health - Breakdown of Oral Arguments
Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health - Conservative Perspective
Over-the-Counter Birth Control - Liberal Perspective
Abortion - Conservative Perspective
Planned Parenthood Funding Explained
Planned Parenthood - Conservative Perspective
Abortion Laws - Last Week Tonight
(Viewer Discretion is Advised)
(Viewer Discretion is Advised)
Abortion Ruling - Last Week Tonight
(Viewer Discretion is Advised)
Abortion Rights - Last Week Tonight
(Viewer Discretion Advised)
LGBTQ
LGBTQ Rights - Liberal Perspective
"I'm Gay and Conservative" - Conservative Perspective
LGBTQ Discrimination - Last Week Tonight
(Viewer Discretion is Advised)
Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) Explained
Religious Freedom and LGTBQ Rights - The Atlantic
Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (2018) Explained
Religious Freedom and LGBTQ Rights - Conservative Perspective
Gender Identity
Sex and Gender Identity: An Intro
Gender Identity - Conservative Perspective
Gender Identity - Liberal Perspective
Teaching Gender Identity - Heritage Foundation
How To Teach Your Kids About Gender - Planned Parenthood
Transgender Bathroom Laws - Liberal Perspective
Transgender Rights - Last Week Tonight
(Viewer Discretion is Advised)
Second Amendment / Firearms
Gun Control - Liberal Perspective
Gun Control - Conservative Perpsective
(Precedent for McDonald v. Chicago)
McDonald v. Chicago (2010) Explained
United States v. Lopez (1995) Explained
Printz v. United States (1997) Explained
(Viewer Discretion is Advised)
Criminal Justice
Mass Incarceration - The Atlantic
Racial Disparities in Criminal Justice System - Liberal Perspective
Criminal Justice: Life After Prison - Liberal Perspective
Prisoner Re-entry - Last Week Tonight
(Viewer Discretion is Advised)
Mandatory Minimums - Liberal Perspective
Mandatory Minimums - Libertarian Perspective
Mandatory Minimums - Last Week Tonight
(Viewer Discretion is Advised)
Sentencing Reform - Conservative Perspective
(Viewer Discretion is Advised)
Prosecutors - Last Week Tonight
(Viewer Discretion is Advised)
Public Defenders - Last Week Tonight
(Viewer Discretion is Advised)
(Viewer Discretion is Advised)
Capital Punishment / Death Penalty
Death Penalty - Conservative Perspective
Abolish the Death Penalty - Liberal Perspective
Death Penalty - Last Week Tonight
(Viewer Discretion is Advised)
Lethal Injections - Last Week Tonight
(Viewer Discretion is Advised)
Immigration
American Immigration System Explained
Legal Immigration - Last Week Tonight
(Viewer Discretion is Advised)
Immigration Policies Viewed as Racist
Immigration - A Nation of Immigrants
Build the Wall - Conservative Perspective
Plyler v. Doe (1982) Explained
(Education for children of undocumented immigrants)
Migrants and Refugees - Last Week Tonight
(Viewer Discretion is Advised)
Environment
Climate Change Explained - National Geographic
Climate Change - Liberal Perspective
Climate Change - Conservative Perspective
EPA Regulation - American Petroleum Institute Perspective
Massachusetts v. EPA (2007) Explained
Paris Climate Agreement - Last Week Tonight
(Viewer Discretion is Advised)
Paris Climate Agreement - Conservative Perspective
Green New Deal - Liberal Perspective
Green New Deal - Conservative Perspective
Green New Deal - Last Week Tonight
(Viewer Discretion is Advised)
Campaign Finance
Electoral College
What is the Electoral College? - History Channel
Ask History - Electoral College
History of the Electoral College - Professor R.B. Bernstein
Electoral College as Constitutional Compromise - CNN
Electoral College Explained - TED Talk
Electoral College - Conservative Perspective
Electoral College Explained - Liberal Perspective
Electoral College is Essential - Conservative Perspective
Is the Electoral College Still Relevant? - Washington Post
Popular Vote vs. Electoral Vote - Conservative Perspective
Electoral College Ruins Democracy - Adam Ruins Everything
Election of 2000 - History Channel
Unions
History of the Labor Movement - History Channel
Unions and Wages - Microeconomic Perspective
Public Unions - Conservative Perspective
Why Unions Matter - Liberal Perspective
What Happened to the American Labor Union? - TIME
Do Big Unions Buy Politicians? - Conservative Perspective
Report on Janus v. AFSCME (2018) - CBS News
Education
Why Did We Create Public Schools?
Why U.S. School System Is Broken - Liberal Perspective
Education Reform - Conservative Perspective
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act (2001) Explained
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) (2015) Explained
Public Schools and Charter Schools Compared
Charter Schools - Conservative Perspective
Charter Schools - Liberal Perspective
School Choice - Conservative Perspective
Charter Schools - Last Week Tonight
(Viewer Discretion is Advised)
Teachers and School Choice - Conservative Perspective
Teachers and Poverty - Liberal Perspective
Standardized Testing - Last Week Tonight
(Viewer Discretion is Advised)
Separation of Church and State
Religious Freedom
Freedom of Religion in the United States - History Channel
Faith, Politics, Money Converge in Religious Freedom Debate - PBS NewsHour
Religious Freedom - Conservative Perspective
Guarding Religious Freedom in America - Conservative Perspective
Religious Tolerance - Conservative Perspective
Religious Freedom - Liberal Perspective
Religious Freedom Based on Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Decision - Liberal Perspective
Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission Explained
Trade and Tariffs
Fashion and Free Trade: Questions About Globalism, Tariffs, and Trade - The Federalist Society
How To Enrich a Country: Free Trade or Protectionism?
Why is the Dollar So Powerful? - CNBC
How Global Trade Runs on U.S. Dollars - WSJ
America v China: Why the Trade War Won't End Soon - The Economist
Do Economic Sanctions Work? - CNBC
(Viewer Discretion is Advised)
Infrastructure
Here's Why U.S. Infrastructure is Lagging Behind Other Countries - USA Today
America's Infrastructure is Crumbling. What Should be Prioritized? - PBS News Hour
Should the Private Sector Help Rebuild American Infrastructure? - PBS News Hour
Infrastructure - Last Week Tonight
(Viewer Discretion is Advised)
The Power Grid - Last Week Tonight
(Viewer Discretion is Advised)
(Viewer Discretion is Advised)