Posted: October 3rd, 2013

2 Sociology short answer/essay questions

1. For laws to be considered legitimate, there must, in general, be a legitimate public interest (the benefits of passing this law outweigh the concerns of taking rights away from the populace). There were three movements in United States society that attempted to direct and control the behavior of individuals: Prohibition, the war on drugs, and efforts to control sexual behavior. Pick one of these movements and answer the following questions about that movement. Do you agree or disagree that society should be concerned about these behaviors as a matter of policy (should the government be involved in making and enforcing laws like these)? If so, explain why. What is the public interest? If not, explain why you think the government should not have interest in these behaviors.
This only needs to be like, 1/3 of a page long.

2.  Popular or common belief is that the poor are a drain on the public treasury that affluent citizens have to support out of their hard-earned dollars. However, this is not the full complete story.  Talk about this general perception; where do you think it comes from?  Why do you think that some people make a distinction between so called “entitlement” programs such as Medicaid, Social Security, TANF/SNAP, etc. and programs that benefit other populations – such as student loans, price-support payments to farmers, tax deductions with business expenses and home mortgage interest?