Last week I found out that spring springs even in rainy, old Oxford. And that cacti can be found growing in various gardens across the University, where they remain year-round for homesick Arizona students. Odd.
Also, I got to visit John Keats’s house! I think I mentioned this before on this blog, but I love Keats. You can tell by my dopey smile in the photo below, and by the fact that I dragged my family out of the London city center to see his house.
Anyways, it was a nice break and helped me prepare for the UTTER CHAOS I RETURNED TO ON MONDAY. Coming up on the roster is the Republican plan to repeal and replace Obamacare. This week in the office, Mexican grey wolves and Betsy DeVos have fallen to the sidelines, and about every person who calls has this to say:
(This is a picture of my office chair:
looking deceptively relaxed and nonchalant despite the country's state of chaos.)
Quite strangely, I had spent the summer researching healthcare policy (primarily Medicaid in Kansas, but still). My summer research enabled me to see the point of view of primarily state governments, so it was interesting this month to hear directly from constituents.
But of course people have other concerns (anyone know how to convert Iraqi dinar into US dollars?) One call (that seemed planted by the Senior Project Gods) was a request to repair the roads in a rural town outside of Tucson. I was told that businesses are being harmed by the fact that no one passes through because the roads are so bad.
And I thought to myself: infrastructure! About two weeks ago, I met with my faculty advisor and we agreed it would be interesting to compare political efficacy/participation in the more rural areas outside of ancient Athens with the rural areas lacking infrastructure in our own state of Arizona.
This would clearly be a turn away from focusing on information and voter ignorance, but in doing some research I read an interesting article where authors argued that with a decision like voting, it isn’t necessary to know everything and less information than one might expect can be used to get by. This article pushed me away from a focus on ignorance and led me back to essentially where I started with this blog: infrastructure.
These are my blog-y thoughts, and feel free to leave your own in the comments below.
In my opinion, this seems like a fun turn for your project, because this connection is more obscure than the connection to information. Responding to the medicaid section, what worries did the constituents share that you did not find on the state government level? Or were there any problems that the state government of Kansas and the Arizonan constituents disagree on?
ReplyDeleteEssentially, hearing personal stories was the difference. At the time of my research, Kansas was interested into switching to value based purchasing (rewarding good doctors). I was researching how other states had done that in the past.
DeleteOne of the things I thought was interesting was that constituents place a large amount of the burden (and blame) on government, while from a government (Kansas's) prospective it is often the providers and insurance companies that are seen as the problem.
Hi Nicole! It is always interesting to hear about calls you receive at the office. Regarding infrastructure, it seems that increased infrastructure in rural areas would enable people in those areas to vote more easily. I don't understand the connection to political efficacy though.
ReplyDeleteIf we could simply improve infrastructure on rural areas, of course that would help. But who is going to fund it? Who is going to fight for it? Chinle, one of Apache county's largest towns, has about 4500 people. In the 2016 election, 26% of eligible voters in Apache county turned up at their polling place, compared to the state average of 74%.
DeleteObviously, these numbers are affected by the variance in income, education, etc. of the people in various areas, but I think this variation might indicate something else as well (something I hear on the phone): people in rural areas often feel they are not being heard and therefore feel alienated from the political process, resulting in low political efficacy.
Hi Nicole! I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed your Spring break. I think that it is a great idea to compare the less urban areas of Athens and the less urban areas of Arizona regarding political efficacy. I'm very excited to see how that will turn out!
ReplyDeleteThank you! Obviously, there is going to be a lot more room for error but I'm excited.
DeleteIt's always so interesting to hear the callers' concerns each week! Have you noticed whether constituents tend to call more frequently in response to certain national level changes, or is it a really steady flow of concern? In terms of the lacking infrastructure in Tuscon, do you think that higher quality infrastructure can affect a politician's interest in that area of their constituency? For example, would an area with better infrastructure be less of a concern for a politician? Sorry that isn't super related to your project, I'm just curious! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteBasically, people call about headlines. It makes me a bit sad that so many issues are occurring in our country and the world (Nigeria), but for the most part, people call about one or two.
DeleteI don't know if better infrastructure by itself would increase a politician's interest in an area, but I think it could lead to other factors (growing industry and business, population increase, perhaps tourism) that could draw someone's attention.
Hi Nicole! Your visit to Oxford and just London in general sounded like a lot of fun. It's always interesting to hear about the kinds of calls you get from the office. I've noticed that a lot of your calls tend to vary depending on whats up next on the political agenda
ReplyDeleteYes. Most issues have a lifespan of about two weeks. After that (even if the Senate hasn't voted), we might have a few stray callers who mention Planned Parenthood or Betsy DeVos but not many. Being in the office makes you realize just how much media coverage affects Americans' concerns.
DeleteHi Nicole! Seems like you had a Wonderful break!
ReplyDeleteI though the comparison of rural Athens to rural America was really interesting and it brought quite a couple of thoughts to mind. I remember something about gerrymandering and population density giving some rural areas more power when voting such as citizens in Montana compared to citizens in California, but it sounds like rural citizens in Athens didn't really have any power. So I was wondering what are your thoughts about this and if rural areas in America has more powe.
I'm not sure I understand your question, but I'll do my best. You can read more about gerrymandering in AZ (in a Supreme Court setting!) here:
Deletehttp://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/06/29/418521823/supreme-court-backs-arizonas-redistricting-commission-targeting-gridlock
Overall, I'm not trying to compare the power of rural areas in Athens and America because I think that quickly leads to should statements I don't want to be making. Rather I'm interesting in seeing how rural voters feel part of the political process.
Hey Nicole! I am so happy to see Lauren in the photo at the top! That is so cool that you are going to Oxford University. What are you most excited about? The idea of comparing Athens to Arizona is super cool.
ReplyDeleteHa, ha! Oxford has something called the tutorial system, where essentially you and professor spend an hour picking through an essay you've written or going through ideas. It sounds scary, but there are few other universities that offer an opportunity like that. So that's what I'm most excited/nervous about!
DeleteHey Nicole! Amazing post, as always :D I'm so glad you had such an amazing spring break, you british gal (I'm still so jealous). Quick question (sorry if this is silly), but do you think how much power is given to rural areas in both Athens and Arizona can affect political efficacy there? Maybe since the people realize they don't get much say or attention/help from the government, they lack the motivation to participate? How can we combat that situation without changing how voting is done (since we don't have much say in that)?
ReplyDeleteI think Kevin's introduction of gerrymandering was difficult, because we obviously don't want to give people more power than is their share, but at the same time I have one constituent from Tucson who calls the Phoenix office because he believes that all decisions are made in the biggest city.
DeleteSo I think you are definitely right: people feel ignored and therefore don't participate. How to combat this situation is a bit more tricky because rural areas often have higher poverty levels, lower quality education, and a variety of other factors that tend to decrease voter turnout as well. I think I'm going to have to do more research here.
Hi Nicole! It's a great feeling when your past research ends up coming in handy down the road. I love how flexible your project is that you can decide to change focus a bit even this far in. I can't wait to see how it all turns out!
ReplyDeleteI think what I'm limited by is not my site, but by the project title and abstract I wrote before having been to my site. It's a bit frustrating coming into the office and realizing I really could have researched anything at all, but for the hole I dug myself into. Oh well.
DeleteHi Nicole! That Tucson caller is a great jumping off point to think about rural politics. Will you be focusing both on voter ignorance and rural politics for your final project?
ReplyDeleteI think I'm going to leave voter ignorance behind, and focus more on whether people in rural areas feel their government is responsive to their needs.
DeleteHello Nicole! I thought that the relationship between infrastructure and political efficacy. If infrastructure is so bad, wouldn't people take part in the political process to enact a change? It seems like a paradox, or a catch-22, or a vicious cycle or something like that.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely, and I think that's what is going to be difficult about finding solutions.
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ReplyDelete