A government is the institution through which a political unit (nation, state or town) exercises authority and performs functions. Governments have many responsibilities, from providing services to citizens to maintaining public safety. Governments also shape society’s policies and values.
People form governments to create order and rules that everyone agrees upon. Examples include school boards, city councils, township boards of supervisors, county commissioners and state legislatures. The United States is a federal republic, which means it has a federal government and several levels of local governments. The federal government is responsible for the military, national parks and other federal facilities, and it makes laws. The president and the Cabinet are in charge of day-to-day operations. The Constitution outlines the federal government’s limits and powers.
Governments are tasked with solving problems that are too big for individuals to tackle on their own. These issues can include pollution, climate change, and natural disasters. Governments can also help with societal problems that cannot be resolved through market forces, such as poverty and crime. Governments can solve these issues by creating and enforcing laws that prohibit certain actions or promote other ones. For example, the Environmental Protection Agency punishes polluters on behalf of the public.
The goal of any government is to provide services and goods that improve the lives of its citizens. Governments can offer many different types of goods and services, including education, health care, transportation, public safety, food and shelter. Governments are also tasked with ensuring that these goods and services are provided at an affordable price and are accessible to all citizens. Governments can do this by raising taxes, imposing regulations and enacting rules.
Most governments are democratic, which means that citizens have the right to vote for who runs their country. The elected officials then make decisions about how to spend the money that the government receives from its citizens. These decisions are based on the interests of the voters. Because of this, politicians have incentives to focus on the groups that can keep them in office. This includes special interest groups, those who are most likely to vote and organizations that can fund campaigns. These factors can cause politics to be less efficient.
The three branches of the United States government are Congress, the Executive Branch and the Judicial Branch. The legislative branch is responsible for making the laws, the executive branch carries out those laws and the judicial branch evaluates whether those laws are fair. In addition, the judicial branch has the power to veto laws passed by Congress. The system is designed to allow for checks and balances and prevent the abuse of power by a single person or group.