American Government Power and Purpose Ch. 8

what are the feelings on growth of the beaucracy

Although controlling the growth of bureaucracy has been a concern in American politics, most Americans benefit in some way from government programs and thus are reluctant to cut back on specific programs.

Why are bureaucratic institutions created

to achieve policy goals. They are created in a historical context, often characterized by crisis of palpable policy failure.

principal-agent relationship with bureaucrats

By implementing the laws and policies passed by elected officials, bureaucrats can be seen as agents of Congress and the presidency. As in any principal-agent relationship, the agent (the bureaucracy) is delegates authority and has a certain amount of leeway for independent action.

Despite the efforts of elected officials (the principals) to check departments and agencies (the agents), bureaucrats have their own goals and thus exercise their own influence on policy.

Bureaucracy

-where the policies formulated and passed into law by elected officials are interpreted, implemented, and ultimately delivered to the nation's citizens

how do bureaucracies establish a coalition of supporters

by creating clienteles in the legislature, the world of interest groups, and public opinion

who are bureaucratic agents most effected by

legislators with extraordinary interest in that bureaucracy's mission

is it easy or hard to change a policy once in place

hard

implementation

the efforts of departments and agencies to the development of rules, regulations, and bureaucratic procedures to translate laws into action

how a principal-agent relationship works

the principal stipulates what he wants done, relying on incentives and other control mechanisms to secure the agents compliance

-legislative principals establish bureaucratic agents to implement the policies promulgated (promote and make widely known) by congress and the president

bureaucracy interpretation

a form of implementation where the bureaucrats have to carry out what they see as the intentions of their superiors

when do bureaucrats engage in lawmaking

when bureaucrats have to interpret a law before implementing it

-congress often deliberately delegates to an administrative agency the responsibility of lawmaking

-often through process of rule-making

rule making

a quasi-legislative administrative process that produces regulations by government agencies

-provide more detailed indications of what a policy actually means

why might rules be modified

because of reactions from the public

administrative adjudication

the application of rules and precedents to specific cases to settle disputes with regulated parties

Why Bureaucracy?

-efficiency

-speedy and equitable policy implementation

-legislatures find it valuable to delegate

legislative oversight

Congress's monitoring of the bureaucracy and its administration of policy, performed mainly through hearings.

-ensure that the latter complies with the law

How bureaucratic whole is seperated

-cabinet departments

-independent agencies

- government corporations

- independent regulatory commissions

organization of cabinet department

1.cabinet department head: secretary of department

2.deputy

3. several top administrators

4.undersecretaries

Bureau-level agency

the highest level of responsibility for specialized programs

independent agencies

agencies in the executive branch of the federal government formed by Congress to help enforce laws and regulations not covered by the executive departments

-outside of the departmental structure

-have broad powers to provide public services

independent regulatory commission

A government agency or commission with regulatory power whose independence is protected by Congress.

-broad discressuon to make rules

clientele agency

a department or bureau of government whose mission is to promote, serve, or represent a particular interest

-most of these locate many of their personnel in field offices dealing directly with their clientele

Agencies for the Maintenance of the Union

Revenue Agencies (IRS), Agencies for Internal Security (department of justice), Agencies for External National Security (state and defense)

regulatory agency

a department, bureau, or independent agency whose primary mission is to impose limits, restrictions, or other obligations on the conduct of individuals or companies in the private sector

administrative legislation

rules made by regulatory agencies and commissions

Agencies of Redistribution

government agencies that influence the amount of money in the economy and influence who has money

-welfare, fiscal and monetary agencies

fiscal policy

policies that regulate the economy through taxing and spending powers

monetary policy

regulation of the economy through manipulation of the supply of money, the price of money, and the availability of credit

Federal Reserve System

A system of 12 Federal Reserve banks that facilitates exchanges of cash, checks, and credit; regulates member banks; and uses monetary policy to fight inflation an deflation

-ensures banks don't over extend their lending

Welfare Agencies

Government institution in charge of social security / benefits, and the physical and mental well-being of people

oversight

the effort by congress through hearings, investigations, and other techniques, to exercise control over the activities of executive agencies

-in hearings the agencies must defend their budgets and decisioins

Power of the Purse

The constitutional power of Congress to raise and spend money. Congress can use this as a negative or checking power over the other branches by freezing or cutting their funding.

congressional casework

legislative work on behalf of individual constituents to solve their problems with government agencies and programs

cutting out the fat

limiting bureaucracy by reducing number of federal employees

deregulation

the policy of reducing or eliminating regulatory restraints on the conduct of individuals or private institutions

devolution

the policy of removing a program from one level of government by deregulating it or passing it down to a lower level, such as from the national government to the state and local governments

privatization

the act of moving all or part of a program from a public sector to the private sector