Reference no: EM133131804

Purpose of the Civic Engagement Assignments: A major theme of this course is the importance of our active participation in the economic policymaking process and the importance of holding policymakers accountable. Students should come away from this course with a better understanding of how to empower themselves and others by challenging economic policymakers. If too many people choose not to take an active role in holding policymakers accountable, corporations and the super-rich will use their vast wealth to skew government policies in their favor. As Noam Chomsky put it, "If you abandon the political arena, somebody is going to be there. Corporations aren't going to go home and join the PTA. They are going to run things." If more people take an active role in advocating for economic policies and in challenging government power, they will be able to help level the playing field of democracy. 

In Macroeconomics, we talk a lot about how the economy works and how different economic policies can influence it. But understanding how economic policies work is only the first step. The next step is understanding that we each have an important role to play by taking action to help determine which policies are enacted and how. Once we realize this, we should start taking action. This is not a one-time action, but a continual process of learning and taking actions. We should think of democracy and justice as verbs, not just nouns. They are something we must actively do, or they will be undermined and taken away from us.

Assignment details: Identify a specific economic policy you want to focus on implementing, not implementing, or changing in some significant way. Write an open letter to one or more elected government official(s) describing the specific economic policy and why you think they should change it. Instructions for Part 1: The first part of the Civic Engagement Assignment is to choose one specific economic policy you want the government to implement (if you're in favor of it), to not implement (if you're not in favor of it), or to change in some significant way. The policy you choose can be something specific like a change in the corporate tax rate or the minimum wage, but you can also choose a larger package containing multiple policies, such as the Build Back Better Act. It must be a policy that can be implemented by (elected or unelected) government officials.

When deciding which policy to focus on, keep in mind that you will have to write a short open letter in which you briefly describe the policy, why you expect it would have a positive or negative impact on the economy (including evidence to support your argument), and why you think the government official(s) should either implement, not implement, or change the policy as you have specified. For your letter to be relevant, you must focus on a policy that currently has at least some significant level of support and/or debate around it. It should be clear from your letter how the policy relates to economics. You can pose your letter to any elected government official(s) at the federal, state, county, or municipal level in the US or any other country. You can also address the letter to an individual at the international level, such as someone who holds a high-level position with the United Nations, World Bank, World Trade Organization, etc. You will probably be able to have more impact if you focus on local officials who have fewer constituents. 

An open letter is a type of letter that is directed at a specific individual, group, organization, etc., and is also intended to be read by a wider audience. Once you have chosen a policy and gathered some information to support your position on the policy, write an open letter to the elected government official(s) you have chosen. There are three main points to this open letter:

1. Briefly describe the policy you want to focus on. Explain why you are either in favor of it, not in favor it, or want it to be changed in some way. Support your position on the policy by citing outside evidence from at least one credible source.
2. Make the elected government official(s) aware that you want them to either implement, not implement, or change the policy you've chosen, and explain why.
3. Make other people in the public aware of why this policy is important and why supporting it or not, so that you can build support from others to help you pressure the elected government official(s).

The open letter should be clearly directed at the government official(s), whose name(s) should be listed in the opening of your letter. Directly ask them to meet your demands regarding the policy you're focusing on. If you're arguing for implementation or changes, give details for how these could be implemented.

At the same time, your letter should also be written in a way that others who are unfamiliar with the economic policy will be able to easily understand what it is, why it's important, and why you are for or against it. By clearly explaining the economic policy in the letter, other members of the public should be more likely to support your cause for or against it. 

You must cite at least two reputable sources for the claims you make in the letter, but use as many sources as you think you need to make a convincing case to both the government official(s) and the public. You can use MLA, APA, or any other common citation format, just as long as you make it clear where you got your information and how others can access it, if they want.

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