Intro to American Government (Chapters 11 - ON ) Kevin Donnelly BSU

POLI 172-004 Bridgewater State University

What are the three topics discussed within CONGRESS?

1) Bi-Cameral Legislature

2) Law-making process

3) Assessment of Congress (Congressional Paradox)

What is the average approval rating for congress/ the president within the Bi-Cameral Legislature?

With the approval rating, having 50% is GOOD. Not common to have a “good score”

The average is LOWER than 50% when it comes to approval ratings.

There have always been (historically) low approval ratings for presidents.

Congress is even lower.

Once you are elected into Congress, it is very difficult to remove you. Congress members are constantly reelected, even if people do not like or support them. This is due to the congressional paradox.

What is the size of the House of Representatives?

The SIZE of the House of Representatives is 435 members.

What determines the size of the House of Representatives?

The amount of members each state gets is based on population.

California, a state with a LARGE population has 52 members in the HOUSE.

Delaware, Wyoming, and North Dakota, states with SMALLER populations have 1 member each in the HOUSE.

How often do members of the House of Representatives get Reelected/ Elect?

Members of the House of Representatives get reelected/elected every two years.

The HOUSE is CONSTANTLY running for re-election. Once you are voted in, you have to rerun. This part of Congress is very attuned to public opinion.

Their whole time in “power” is basically running for reelection, and their time to work on certain topics of discussion is limited.

How much space does House of Representatives members work with in their state?

The House of Representatives work in Small Districts within their state.

Massachusetts has 6 districts, which each member of the HOUSE running one.

Each member does NOT need to run for election state wide, but just by that one district.

You ONLY need to appeal to that one district and their needs/wants.

Is the House of Representatives Tied to Public Opinion or do they Move Confidently?

The House of Representatives is Tied on Public Opinion.

Very volatile, very focused on public opinion, very reactive.

HOUSE members throw out a lot of legislation and tie it to public opinion.

The HOUSE needs to be within these elements because members need to “constantly” reelect.

They are fast going in as they are out. “I hope to throw this issue out the window in the next year.”

Does the House of Representatives follow a Rules Committee or a Filibuster?

The House of Representatives follows a Rules Committee.

A Specialized Committee, in which a piece of legislation is being considered, and the option is set up to debate.

While passing a certain rule or law, the HOUSE sets rules to the vote itself.

Like, you may have only 30 days to vote on whether the rule/ law goes into effect or not. As well as this vote must be set up in a certain way for voters.

No single person within the HOUSE has the power to halt a vote.

Does the House of Representatives follow Impeachment or Conviction?

The House of Representatives follows Impeachment.

The HOUSE decides if the president should be impeached. The first part of this process is shared by the Senate.

What is the size of the Senate?

The size of the Senate is 100 members.

Each state gets ONLY TWO Senate members.

How often do members of the Senate get Reelected/ Elected?

Members of the Senate get reelected/ elected every SIX years.

This is a large length of time, so members do not have to worry about reelection for another 4 to 5 years.

We break everything down, like who gets reelected or newly elected by 3 years. 1/3rd of the members of the Senate every 2 years get reelected. It is NOT a clean sweep of the Senate every 6 years.

So for 2 years, there has been no one new, replaced, or questioned. Then there is voting, then again for 2 more years, and so on.

How much space does the Senate work with in their state?

The Senate works STATEWIDE.

A person running for the Senate needs to face EVERY INDIVIDUAL running for Senate as well, in that one state.

You need to appeal to the population on a broader level (much broader than the HOUSE), and more diverse population.

This is a very hard and complicated challenge to overcome.

Is the Senate Tied to Public Opinion or do they Move Confidently?

The Senate Moves Confidently.

The Senate moves slower and acts less reactively than the HOUSE.

These members can take their time getting an issue taken care of in their time in the Senate, as they have 5 years before they have to worry about Reelection or just leaving Congress.

Does the Senate follow a Rules Committee or a Filibuster?

The Senate follows a Filibuster.

The Senate (if they “wanted” to) never has to end a debate, they can prolong it, and kill it- but not officially.

Can Not Enforce the end/ solution to it.

A single vote from a single senator has the power to stop a vote.

This makes the Senate, or even a single Senate member seem more powerful than the HOUSE, or even a single HOUSE member because of this rule.

Does the Senate follow Impeachment or Conviction?

The Senate follows Conviction.

A Conviction or Decision made for the Impeachment process of the President.

This is the SECOND part of the process shared with the HOUSE.

What two other elements does the Senate Control?

1) Confirms Judicial Appointment

2) Confirms Treaties

What is the Law-Making Process Section of Congress highlight?

This section highlights the differences of the Law-Making Process between the House of Representatives and The Senate.

1) Hearing

2) Mark-Up Session

3) Vote-In Committee

4) Floor Debate

5) Vote on Floor

What is the Hearing Section of the Law-Making Process state for the House of Representatives AND Senate?

(In a committee or subcommittee)

The work for Hearings is primarily done in committees, as small as a dozen/ 12 members or as large as 50 members.

These committees Welcome in the perspective of the public &/ or bureaucrats.

People that know the field or topic very well.

If the topic is on Agreement with a Foreign Country, experts of that topic/ field, or even an everyday citizen, can give their opinion.

This is like a testimony group, this gets a group of people to make a decision.

What is the Mark-Up Section of the Law-Making Process state for the House of Representatives AND Senate?

Groups or individuals work independently but look at each other’s actions & responses.

You first mark up the initial piece of legislation, and this is where you make changes and adjustments. You do this task within that Committee.

What is the Vote-In Committee Section of the Law-Making Process state for the House of Representatives AND Senate?

After meeting and working on the Mark-Up Section, if the piece of legislation is not passed, then it is over.

Committees are controlled by the people in power.

-VETO POINT (HOUSE)-

Ex: The Democrats under Biden ran the Senate, now that Trump will become the President again, the Republicans will control the Senate.

What is the Floor Debate Section of the Law-Making Process state for the House of Representatives AND Senate?

The Full organization comes together. The rules committee in the House sets the terms of the debate.

“We are only going to debate this for . . . 30 days.”

There will always be a debate or vote on the floor if the organization is active.

-VETO POINT (FLOOR DEBATE)-

What is the Filibuster Section of the Law-Making Process state for the SENATE?

Only ONE Senate member has to veto to cause a Filibuster and have the whole piece of legislation halted.

-VETO POINT (SENATE)-

What is the Vote on the Floor Section of the Law-Making Process state for the House of Representatives and Senate?

HOUSE

-PASSES-

SENATE

-PASSES-

After both floor votes, if they are not identical for the president to sign, they need to have a reconciliation committee.

What is the Reconciliation Committee?

Half of the HOUSE and Senate members need to come together, agree and organize the legislation, that was not fully agreed upon.

When done, the agreement is taken back to the HOUSE and Senate, to be agreed on.

Which a floor vote comes into play, which another -VETO POINT-

That floor vote would come back, and then finally go to the President, where he may either agree on it, or falter and cause a -VETO POINT-

What is the Assessment of Congress (Congressional Paradox)?

The Assessment of Congress (Congressional Paradox) is when Two facts are true at the same time.

If congress members are being elected after serving two or six years, what is the positive of reelection and negative/ low approval?

What are the two sides of Assessment of Congress (Congressional Paradox)?

1) Positive/ Reelection (95% are approved and moved on)

2) Negative/ Low Approval (10-15% approval rating)

What are the four parts of Positive/ Re-Election (95% + are approved and moved on)?

1) Name Recognition

2) Money

3) Constituent Services

4) Greater Complexity than ever

Name Recognition of Positive/ Re-Election (95% + are approved and moved on)?

Someone who already holds a place in office has the advantage of name recognition.

The lower-down ballots rely on name recognition.

Presidency, the person you already know vs don’t. You may vote for the name you have heard of rather than not.

Money of Positive/ Reelection (95% + and approved and moved on)?

It is much easier to make/ have money to run for office while in power vs. not.

You need to raise money for businesses, unions, and individual donors.

Out of power = not as well known = not as much money.

Constituent Services of Positive/ Reelection (95% + are approved and moved on)?

EX: There is a pothole, and the town is not doing anything.

If you contact your REP, and they help (even if this is a small issue), this helpful act to you and the town is key.

When the REP intervenes on your behalf, you are now a supporter.

You want to keep your voters happy.

Greater Complexity than Ever of Positive/ Reelection (95% + are approved and moved on)?

Tough Job, but this REP can handle it.

What are the four parts of Negative/ Low Approval (10-15% approval rating)?

1) Too Partisan

2) Role of “Special Interests”

3) Lack of Fiscal Restraint

4) “Out of Touch”

Too Partisan of Negative/ Low Approval (10-15% approval rating)?

Too entranced by your own political party.

Anything a Republican says, a Democrat will instinctively disagree. Why? Because they are a republican.

Role of “Special Interests” of Negative/ Low Approval (10-15% approval rating)?

Sometimes voters think that the person running will only benefit whoever gives you the most money.

Lack of Fiscal Restraint of Negative/ Low Approval (10-15% approval rating)?

We sometimes have a bad economy, debt, etc.

We have to pass this down to our children. If Massachusetts was having issues with money, the governor must then make cuts to have our budget become zero.

We need to balance our check books, we do it, our states do it, why can’t you?

Either raise money or something else.

“Out of Touch” of Negative/ Low Approval (10-15% approval rating)?

You do not have your voice hurt, they only listen to higher up or other voices.

They are “Out of Touch.”

What are the six sections of Presidency + Power?

1) Theoretical Basis

2) Constitutional Basis

3) Expansion/ Growth of Power

4) Roadblock to Power

5) Theories of Presidential Power

6) Too Strong/ Weak?

Fear of One Person Having Too Much Power

There is a large fear of having one person have too much power.

The reason why we have only one president and not a counsel is because of ALEXANDER HAMILTON.

Alexander believed it was terrible and devastating, and that we just needed one person.

If it were not for Alexander, we would have started off with a counsel- at least at first.

George Washington - I am a mere presiding officer

Current President - I am the PRESIDENT

It was supposed to be a soft term, as congress should have more/power.

It is not like that anymore . . .

What are the three important parts to remember about Theoretical Basis?

1) Federalist Papers

2) #69

3) #70

What are the Federalist Papers?

Written by Alexander Hamilton, why we should have on person/ president instead of a counsel.

He was an intelligent lawyer, good at analyzing articles and topics.

What is #69?

How weak the President Should be?

“The governor of New York would be more powerful than the president.”

The governor can call a militia, and call people for battle.

The president needs approval from Congress.

The governor can choose people to be in their cabinet. No questions asked.

The president can not choose but can suggest. No questions asked.

The King of Great Britain, can do no wrong and do whatever he wants. Tax at will, Murder, Invade another country.

The President can no do exactly what he wants, no issues or questions asked. there are rules and they are still a person who can be liable.

What is #70?

Why just one person?

What if they disagreed? If you had all of these leaders disagree with one another, who would break it up, the country would be dysfunctional.

What if they became enemies/ rivals? Stabbing each other in the back, running and leading against one another.

What if we are attacked? Quick response to an attack is needed, not a counsel arguing.

These can lead to accountability. That ONE person can be found liable, a whole group. . . .It can NOT be done easily, if at all.

What are the four parts of Constitutional Basis?

1) Military Powers

2) Judicial Powers

3) Legislative Powers

4) Executive Powers

What are Military Powers?

Commander in Chief of US Armed Forces

President also has the ability to negotiate treaties with foreign countries. (With consent of the Senate)

What are Judicial Powers?

Pardon (President can not pardon someone at a state level, but if someone is tried in the federal court, that is a power they have that isn’t checked.)

Appointed Judges (With the consent of the Senate.)

What are Legislative Powers?

Veto (Negative Power. Can be overridden with 2/3rds vote)

State of Union Address

What are Executive Powers?

Powers to Execute the Laws.

What are the two parts of Expansion/ Growth of Power?

1) Inherent Power

2) Delegated Power

What does Inherent Power mean?

Isn’t tied to the constitution, but doing extra things to see that the laws of the constitution are being fairly executed.

What does Delegated Power mean?

Given Power to the President in which the government once had.

1939 Reorganization Act.

Came about because FDR was President, this was during the Great Depression, 2nd World War. He was looking around the world and saw that the US government was a superpower.

He organized the Brown Loe group, to get things that the President needed, which they all went through.

1) Exec. Office of the President, the “West Wings”. (Made building for President, now employs 3000 people.)

2) Office of MGMT + Budget (Power to tax and spend is very significant.)

3) National Security Advisor. (Significant, Infl. Of the President and his decision on Security, hand pick without the advice of HOUSE or Senate.)

The office did grow largely over the past 40 years.

What are the FIVE Roadblocks to Power?

1) Legislative Powers are very weak

2) Divided Government

3) Weak Parties

4) Some areas are impossible to touch

5) Impeachment

Why is Legislative Powers are very weak a Roadblock to Power?

In order to get pretty much anything done, you need to pass a law in legislation. If congress denies or vetoes a law in the making, The president can not do too much about it.

In terms of the president, legislative powers are very weak.

Why is Divided Government a Roadblock to Power?

White House is different than one of the chambers of Congress.

Right now: Democrat White House/ President

House of Representatives: Republican

Senate: Democrat

It is easy to get things done when it is only reviewed by the senate, but with the HOUSE, it makes things more difficult . . .

Next Year: Republican White House/ President

Senate: Republican

HOUSE: Republican

This will make the process for law-making for the republican party much easier.

Why is Weak Parties a Roadblock to Power?

Some democrats don’t agree with other democrats, same with republicans with republicans.

So if Biden wanted to do something from a Democratic Senate, that does not mean they will do what he wants due to their same political party.

Why are Some Areas are Impossible to Touch a Roadblock to Power?

States run their own education policy, taxes, etc.

Even if the president wanted to touch it, he couldn’t.

Why is Impeachment a Roadblock to Power?

The President is not above the law, he can be removed, impeached, and liable for mistakes.

Who are the TWO people that explain Presidential Power?

1) Neusdat

2) Showronek

What is Neusdat’s explanation of Presidential Power?

Persuasion

A president will be powerful when they have the ability to persuade and inspire.

What is Showronek’s explanation of Presidential Powers?

Power comes in waves, and you are lucky if you are given that power.

Inflation, economy, power, citizens skepticism, when high and low, your power will rise and fall.

EX: Reagan came and was elected before the slope started, So he had smooth sailing.

Carter, on the other hand, started on a downward Slope. He did not have bad ideas, but he did not get much done and the country was moving away from his ideas.

Theories of Presidential Power . . . Is the Office of the Presidency too Powerful?

Inherit or Delegated Power . . . Possibly

State level power and specific actions are restricted to the President.

Too Strong/ Weak? Which Theory (Individual/ Cycle) seems more Accurate?

Showronek's or Neusdat’s?

What are the 4 sections of the Courts?

1) Judicial Selection

2) Judicial Decision-Making

3) Supreme Court

4) Judicial Federalism

What is the basic info of Judicial Selection?

The governor appoints, and The Judges choose.

Mixed tapestry of Judicial Selection throughout the country.

What are the 3 ways Judicial Selection occurs?

1) Appointment (MA & at National Level)

2) Popular Election

3) Legislative Election

What is Appointment (MA & at National Level) and What are the Pros?

Executive Branch Official (Governor) chooses the nominee, the person is vetted and confirmed by the legislator.

PROS:

-Strong Vetting Process

-Insulated from Politics

What are the Cons of Appointment (MA & at National Level)?

-Lack of Public Opinion

-Serve for life (too long?)

What is Popular Election and What are the Pros?

Just like any candidate, governor or president would.

-Non-partisan

-Re-election

PROS:

-Increased accountability

-Judges are arguably more responsive. You need to or you could miss re-election.

What are the Cons of Popular Election?

-Low Voter Turnout

-Still tend to be “Political”

What is Legislative Election and What are the Pros?

Governor (sometimes involved) selects pool of candidates, legislature selects person.

At the end of the day, the legislature is the place where decisions are made every day.

PROS:

-Strong Vetting Process

What are the Cons of Legislature Election?

-Rewards Former Legislators.

What are the FOUR factors of Judicial Decision-Making?

1) (Established) Precedent

2) Training

3) “Friend of the Court” Brief

4) Values

What is the (Established) Precedent Factor of Judicial Decision-Making?

Decisions made in previous court cases.

This makes it so courts do not have to rehash the same court questions again and again- and again. This would decide the fate of all cases that look similar.

But this can be overridden, like the case Roe v. Wade.

Usually informs future decision making unless there is a compelling reason to override it.

What is the Training Factor of judicial Decision-Making?

Academic training, how they were taught how to do the job.

Where they interned, worked previously, job experience, etc.

Examples: You ask 3 people the question, “What is the cause of Poverty?”

Social Worker, who is down to society - Psychological Answer

Political Scientist - Other Answer

Professor - Educational Answer/ Other Answer.

No one is wrong, but they all have different answers or perspectives due to their different training.

What is the “Friend of the Court” Brief Factor for Judicial Decision-Making?

Someone who can bring an opinion to the judge from outside of the court.

Example: Google might have to sell Chrome due to a possible Monopoly Case.

State - “They should sell because of a monopoly case”

Google - “This is not monopoly, but user choice.”

There are now outside perspectives saying, “This is what the industry will look like if they sell, and if they don’t.”

These outside perspectives are analysts, other google-like companies, etc.

That is something the judge wants, as well as something that could sway the case.

Simple: Outside Opinions affecting the case can be just as powerful as the voices within the case.

What is the Value Factor of Judicial Decision-Making?

Beliefs and Values can affect the case.

Example: State vs. Person.

If that person has a different religion than the court, the court may not side with them due to that difference in religion, and not even of the case material itself.

If this was not the case, we would not have judges who are conservative or liberal.

What are the four parts of the Supreme Court?

1) Judicial Review

2) Rule of Four

3) Serve for Life

What is Judicial Review?

If a law is passed by Congress or act of the President is Constitutional or not . . .

The question above and the action that follows is Judicial Review.

The US can do this, but in England, the parliament says this is a law, then it is a law and there is nothing you can do about it.

What is the Rule of Four?

The Supreme Court has NINE people. If four judges say, “Yes, we want to hear the case”, then the case will get to heard upon by the SP.

Example: Same Sex Marriage case came to court for decades, but for decades there has been 3 or less individuals in the court who were ready to hear the case. It is not that they did not disagree 100%, but deflected it and said, “We are not ready to weigh in on this political matter, yet.” Now you know that same-sex marriage was passed.

What is Serve for Life?

Judges on the Supreme Court, appointed by the Senate & Congress, (Unless removed), you are there until you either step down or die.

What are the THREE PROS of Serve for Life?

1) Takes Politics out of Decision-Making

People who have to worry about reelection, they must worry about public opinion. Not here, you are not taken from this role unless removed (which is rare) so it removed much of the sense of public opinion, as well as current political views.

2) Develop Expertise

Takes a long time to start & understand the basics of any job. It takes time, even years, like a person working at a grocery store, teaching, etc. The longer you are at a job, the better you will be at the actions as well as the remembrance of the role. the Supreme Court judges than are EXTREMELY experienced, as they work for decades and have a long practice and experience in the role in which they currently have.

3) Stability

People come in and out of court very infrequently. No uneven roles, voter, new people aren’t as often as long-term members.

What are the THREE CONS of Serve for Life?

1) “Out-of-Touch” w/ changing norms

Every generation comes with new ideas, perspectives, rules and societal ideologies. The older individuals in the supreme court are very different from the younger generation, as older members may not agree with younger citizens/ generations.

2) Lack of New Ideas

Set in their ways, been doing the same game for so long. They will not imagine anything different.

3) Lasting Impact of the President

The Presidents are getting smarter, they are choosing younger Supreme Court Justices. So there could be a member who is 40 years old, that could be in this role for 2 generations. That lasting impact of this role is because the President appointed them so young (younger than average or previous members of the Supreme Court Already).

What are the two sections under Bureaucracy?

1) Two Core Functions

2) Weber’s Six Characteristics

What are the Two Core Functions in Bureaucracy?

1) Implement Policy

Politics can be confusing & overwhelming. You sometimes get wild swings of actions & different political views. Bureaucratic Infrastructure is sperate from that swing.

If we knew about something bad happening in our Bureaucracy Infrastructure, the government would acknowledge it, but won’t do anything about it. If you call the police, they will still come. Schools will continue, jobs will keep going. That’s what is important about Bureaucracy, because even with mishaps, and swinging political actions, the government will continue and society will mostly be stable.

2) Ensure the Continuity of Government

The Implementation and Continuity are elements that go hand in hand for Bureaucracy to be functioning.

What are Weber’s Six Characteristics of LOGIC?

Weber’s “Ideal Form of Government”

1) Established Hierarchy. Chain of Command.

Ex: You have a sewer cleaning job, all of these people along side you got this sewer cleaning job but do not know how to do it. When you asked how they got the job, they said it was because someone higher up in command got them the job.

This brings two things, Control & Accountability. Someone needs to be in charge, and when needed someone needs to be responsible for their jobs & actions.

If someone working as a sewer cleaner did not do their job, their boss should take care of it. If that boss didn’t, their boss will, if THAT boss doesn’t, then their boss will, and on and on and on . . .

2) Division of Labor. Expertise and Efficiency

Someone who knows the job because they’ve done it so many times, making the process fast.

3) Written Records

(Ensure) Accountability & Institutional Memory

If you retire from a job after doing it for years, unless you write down how to do the job, the next person will not know how to do it next.

4) Selection Based on Merit

When you want a good job in government, you need to prove ability, proof of capability and more, you could be hired. Well, should. Not because you paid someone or you have a inside connection. When someone is hired the wrong way, they can be sued.

5) General Rules, Roots at Favoritism

6) Full-Time Jobs

Develop Expertise

What are Weber’s Six Characteristics of CRITIQUE?

Weber's “Ideal Form of Government

1) Inefficient & Tamp down Innovation

Ex: Your boss just told you to do something that does not make any sense. You tell your boss and your boss’s boss, “Hey, this doesn’t make any sense. We shouldn’t be doing it like this, why are we even?” You are in the action, in the literal part of the job. In work command, the higher you are, the less connected you are with the job and knowledgeable about what needs to be done. This is inefficient. You need to figure out how to make this task more efficient, by experimentation and testing.

2) Narrow View of Solutions

3) “Red Tape”

You have to do so much extra work and paperwork so that there is always a record of how the job is done.

4) Merit?

No favoritism, just whoever is more qualified for the job. Just because you got the higher score does not mean you are better.

5) Inefficient

6) Perverse Incentives

To work in government is to get people less dependent on the government, which leaves you with less incentive to do your job.

What are the four sections of Public Policy?

1) What is it?/ Define

2) Policy Cycle/ Public Policy?

3) Categories

4) Agenda-Setting (Two types of “Agender” & Theories of the Process)

What is Public Policy?

What the government does is public policy, besides making laws and establishing them. This is governing contracts, instating laws, and so much more.

It is such a broad genre, that this is a good line to remember . . .

"[Public Officials within Government] choose to do or not to do about [public opinions].”

“[Public Officials within Government] choose to do or not to do about [Public Problems].”

[Public Officials within Government] - Drip in Policies. Policies are everywhere, even in your personal family dynamic. However Public officials within government have action.

. . . choose to do or not to do - Have the action, Within action is policy. A public policy is something you have to follow or not follow, which is an action, but also is not an action if you just sit and watch it.

. . . [Public Problems] - Before the government started to get involved with the usage of cigarettes. If the public used them, it was their problem. “Back then we did not know it was harmful” But you did, but you chose not to care at that time whether the radio told you it was harmful or not. Restaurants and Bars used to allow smoking inside, and that would affect the workers. Even if they did not smoke themselves, they would be affected by second-hand smoke for 6-8 hours a day. When doctors started realizing that these workers were experiencing the same symptoms and issues as regular smokers- the realization came that it is not a just a personal effect when it affects others/ the public. Now the government restricts where you can smoke.

What are the four parts of Policy Cycle/ Public Policy?

1) Agenda Setting

2) Policy Adoption

3) Policy Implementation

4) Evaluation

What is Agenda Setting in Policy Cycle/ Public Policy?

Private → Setting

Why do we focus on the problems that we do? Problems and current issues change. Obama focused on health care in 2008, what about Biden now? It has not been solved, but it is just not the big issue of the time anymore.

What is Policy Adoption in Policy Cycle/ Public Policy?

Where do solutions come from? Public, government, anyone. An issue arises and there comes brainstorming and ideas.

How do they get passed? Parents, government, towns, letters, forms, etc.

What is Policy Implementation of Policy Cycle/ Public Policy?

Bureaucratic Discretion - Lawmakers write laws but in a broad way.

Ex: Massachusetts Education starts to slip. The Government would start to worry and allocate “10 million dollars for education,” but not equally. Lawmakers say, “Hey, this school right here will get this much money, the town itself will then decide where and what schools (in that town) will get the money.”

This act is done across the country, but of course, varies in results.

What is Evaluation of Policy Policy/ Public Policy?

Did the policy work? Did it pull off? In some communities it did, some didn’t. In some small groups it did, in some small groups it did not.

Well, was this the teacher’s fault? Admin? Students?

The Start is that there is a bad kid in the school, with the possibility of being sent to summer school. The goal was to induce positivity in the students who are more confident than before. Either stop their own bad habits, or “scare” others from following the same.

What are the two Categories of Policy Cycle/ Public Policy?

1) Domestic

2) Foreign

What are the three parts of the Domestic Category of Policy Cycle/ Public Policy?

1) Distributive

Something that everyone can benefit from equally, “It is fair so no one cares.”

-Low Conflict

-Visibility

2) Regulation

Regulation, in which everything in our society is regulated

-Low Visibility

-Organized Interests

The vast majority of regulations we do not talk about (Low visibility), less we are in that area, the less we are connected to that interest/ topic.

3) Re-Distribution

What is high news, in politics, clear winners and losers. Ex: Healthcare Policy. Shifting resources from one group to another will always cause conflicts.

-High Conflict

-High Visibility

What are the three parts of the Foreign Category of Policy Cycle/ Public Policy?

1) Strategic

-High Visibility

-Ideological, where to move the military or protection. Right now, we have troops in Ukraine, due to Russia’s attack.

2) Structural

-Low Visibility

-Industry/ Geological

Where to place industries, where we get supplies, materials, things needed. If you are in an aera where building naval ships is huge for the economy, and the government wants to move providers, you are going to want to keep them for money, jobs, and the economy.

3) Crisis

-High-Level Decision-Making

-Tight Security (Secret)

This is rare, but we have had some major crises.

9/11, a foreign attack, was immediate, no time for transparency, or plan-making. High officials were making quick decisions without public opinion or transparency.

What are the Two Types of “Agendas”

1) Popular - What everyday people want prioritized

2) Formal - What legislature wants to prioritize

General population wants to deal with inflation, but you could say that legislature wants to do the same.

There sometimes can be overlap with agendas, sometimes not.

Like immigration, public wants, but the legislation won’t do anything about it.

What are the Two Theories of the Process?

1) Three Streams - J. Kingdon

2) Punctuated Equilibrium - Baumgartner + Jones

Why does legislation only work on 3,4 or 5 issues at a time? Why these? What makes these worthy?

These theories outline that . . .

Three Streams

J. Kingdon

The politics need to be ripe for change, the problem needs to be acutely felt by the population, there needs to be a large amount of people agreeing on it.

1. Politics

2. Problem

3. Policy

If these THREE streams are agreed on together, that will start it as a policy and put it on the window of opportunity.

Like Bill Clinton’s run for president, his issues that he wanted to change were all found under the public’s view.

Politics wanted to work on Healthcare. (#1)

The public wanted to work on Healthcare. (#2)

His policy- there was no widely agreed on policy. (No on #3)

Fast Forward to Obama, same situation where the public liked the candidate and had the same issue wanted to be addressed, Healthcare.

He was careful not to make the same mistakes in his presidency.

Politics - Same (#1)

Public - Same (#2)

Policy - Passed a universal healthcare law. (#3 is now passed)

Punctuated Equilibrium

Baumgartner + Jones

The vast majority of time dealing with issues are the same.

In 1965, got healthcare and health aid.

There was no real change in these institutions to what is now called Policy Monopoly.

If it were healthcare, it would be doctor, insurers, and pharmaceutical industries reacting to this change and being crystalized about it.

That is an equilibrium.

In 2008, there was a burst and disrupted the equilibrium. In order to do this, you need a policy image.

How did healthcare change and politics change from 1965 to 2008?

Baumgartner + Jones asked is healthcare a personal responsibility or required from citizenship- many people responded personal responsibility.

When Obama was elected, that question boomed.

Before that event, majority instead said it is a right of citizenship, the tables have turned.