What are the three branches of government?

[question everything]

Several months ago, TIME, and other sources, reported that only 36% of Americans can name all three.

And then it displayed an example from a Sixth Grade Civics Exam where the three branches were listed:

Fire Department

Post Office

Police Department.

This actually makes sense. These are three institutions that directly affect our lives. The are close and real and we know that we need them; we know the outcome of their not being there.

Compare these to the esoteric Supreme Court, Congress and the White House. Most Americans cannot point to how these institutions affect their lives.

Another difference between the ones from that exam - these institutions are chronically underfunded, even though we expect them to perform above and beyond the call of duty.

Considering most members of Congress are millionaires, it would make a lot of sense to direct the salaries of these members of Congress toward these underfunded institutions.

Just saying.

[djean111]

1. Jamie Dimon, Justice Scalia, and Monsanto.

[oldandhappy]

2. Koch Bros

seem to be a current branch of government. Military is huge. Thank you for your post. Makes me think! I knew the correct answers, but you are correct in seeing there are other answers.

[lunasun]

3. Um too bad then that they do not realize how much they can affect their lives

Because they do much more than usps fd or pd.
"
Compare these to the esoteric Supreme Court, Congress and the White House. Most Americans cannot point to how these institutions affect their lives. " < that's very sad

[Sunlei]

10. "The worse Congress in history" counts on citizen ignorance. Boner says, "It's not my fault"

[question everything]

18. Of course the real branches of governemnt affect our lives

however most people do not realize it in their day to day lives.

Brown vs. Board of Education, Roe v. Wade, Griswold vs. Connecticut (the right for privacy including using birth control), Miranda vs. Arizona, Gideon vs. Wainwright, and more recently - negating DOMA while confirming ACA.

GI Bill, draft and its elimination, declaring war, taxes, etc. Constitutional Amendments eliminating slavery and allowing women to vote, the 14th Amendment and the Civil Rights vote.

The establishment of the FAA, EPA, FDA, CDC, VA and other important agencies. Social Security and Medicare.

But if you will just stop the "men in the street" - how many of them will be able to point to a single vote or decision that they affect their lives on a regular basis? The above rights have been taken for granted by most, for many years.

Remember that idiot who, upon hearing about ACA in 2009 demanded that "the government not touch his Medicare?"

Yes, this is the problem. A few weeks before the recent elections Elizabeth Warren was on one of the talk shows and the way she detailed what the Democrats accomplished and how the Republicans were going to gut many of these programs, I thought: why can't all the candidates be that clear and concise? Why were they distancing themselves from Obama?

[Maedhros]

4. The three branches of American Government in the 21st Century:

Big Oil

Big Finance

Military Contractors

[former9thward]

5. The post office may be underfunded but not the other two.

At least not in the city I live in or any other city I have lived in. The fire department is very over staffed in most major cities. The number of actual fires goes down each year because of improved fire resistance materials and a reduction of people smoking inside their houses. Yet in my city to make the run numbers look good on paper they send fire trucks out whenever an Paramedic truck goes out "for traffic control" even though it is not necessary for that purpose or anything else. Police and fire are the highest paid city workers also -- which is fine but they are not underfunded.

[JayhawkSD]

11. It's a lot more than traffic control

The fire truck is there in case any doors need to be taken down, or heavy lifting is needed, or holes need to be cut through walls for access... Lives can be lost if a stretcher cannot be maneuvered down a flight of stairs and out a door and the EMTs have to wait while a fire truck is called to provide the egress.

[former9thward]

13. Are you stating, as the OP did, fire departments are "underfunded"?

[JayhawkSD]

14. No, I suspect some are and some are not.

Undoubtedly varies by city. I was merely refuting your implication that the fire truck being sent along with EMTs is a waste of resources done to "to make the run numbers look good on paper" and is "is not necessary for that purpose (traffic control) or anything else." They are sent for the purpose of assuring safety and saving lives.

In fact, when an ambulance is sent to a motor vehicle accident on a freeway, the fire truck is essential for traffic control. Cars are flying past the scene at freway speeds and the massive truck is parked behind the ambulance so that EMTs can work without fear of being hit by passing cars. In California a major kerfuffle arose because a CHP officer told a fireman to move his truck and he refused to do so until the ambulance was loaded and ready to roll off. He told the CHP officer he was parked to protect his EMTs and the victims.

[Man from Pickens]

6. Banking, pharmaceuticals, and war

[DamnYankeeInHouston]

7. Petrochemical Pharmaceutical Financial

[blkmusclmachine]

8. Wal Mart, Faux Nooz, and Ted Cruz

[Sunlei]

9. "presidential addresses have often been at a sixth-grader's level" Obama SOTUs were at 8th grade.

In Obama's own words: "My message is simple."

http://blog.lib.umn.edu/cspg/smartpolitics/2012/01/my_message_is_simple_obamas_so.php

I wish he'd bump up to his College Professor level in public

[MADem]

12. They teach civics in sixth grade?

I thought that went out the window!

[bravenak]

15. Military industrial complex, Prison Industrial Complex, Wall Street.

The End.

[Kablooie]

16. The Upper House, The Lower House, The Out House.

[polynomial]

17. Is our government based on promoting ignorance?

Of course, example by letting lies propagate freely at election time is the problem. Yes, money has a lot to do but if the lies are stopped the money will stop too.

One time at work one of my friends, a Black lady asked me what kind of government we had a Republic or a Democratic one.

It sort puzzled me because she appeared to about fifty years old. That debate about it or the argument still going on. However my conclusion is that our government is based on promoting ignorance.

Since the Internet, its way obvious much has been hidden by the media for generations even before the flat screen.

Heck advance math could be and should be taught by simple methods in the weather reporting, it’s a shameful sham that is not done to really serve the public.

Most of the laws in the work place are defended by our representatives in government, however, the physical or mental work load today is out of balance even for them. The cause is an inadequate education from the get go.

It does not matter how many branches of government we have if they are loaded with mentally insufficient types that always fall short in reasoning about the simple goal to improve the population. Working smarter the working class should be able to make more money. That’s not happening.

There are times when stupid-ness occurs even in people who have money such as those we consider the one percent.

Perhaps it is happening right now. The greed goes in many directions exampled like the gas prices are just two dollars in many places around Chicago. Very startling and makes many wonder what is the real reason.

Something is going on. The general public has to have money to spend in order for the rich to be able to make more money.

Our language and our reasoning in which all people work with is converted into electronics, those techniques should be introduced early in the k12 system, or expanded to k16. It is not practical to burden society in an academic forced march into massive debt. The so called undergraduate degree needs to be free to the citizen.

[Wabbajack_]

19. It you slash Congresional salaries

then ONLY rich people or corrupt scum would even run for Congress. Great idea.

[Initech]

20. Koch Bros, Walton Family, and EXXON Mobil.

[FSogol]

21. Executive, Oprah, and the NFL.

[TheKentuckian]

22. Military, Propaganda, and Corporate...duh.