Public Policy Midterm

policy

A statement by government of what it intends to do, such as a law, regulation, ruling, decision, order, or a combination of these. The lack of such statements may also be an implicit statement of a policy not to do something.

Three Objectives of Governance

Efficient, Effective, Equitable

What is policy

"Process of carrying out something to serve public interest. Created by legislature, administered by admin branch."

Policy Stakeholders

Anyone with interests in policy or will be impacted by policy

Public Policy

Authoritative allocation of values for the whole of society; whatever government choose to do or not to do

Public Policy in Democracy

"Driven by Concept of Liberalism,Serves public interest, Defined by elected policy makers"

Official Actors

actors established and legitimized by constitution

Unofficial Actors

actors not established and legitimized by constitution; serve private interest

levels of agenda

Agenda universe
systemic agenda

institutional agenda

decision agenda

Enlightenment

Term used to describe a philosophic movement of the early 18th century, in which numerous theorists and philosophers developed new political and social philosophies based on reason and on insights from the natural sciences. The Enlightenment developed the thinking that spurred the American and French revolutions, among other changes.

Politics

process by which society determines who gets what, when they get it, and how they get it.

Policy

a statement by the government of what it intends to do, such as a law, regulation, ruling, decision, order, or a combination of these. The lack of such statements may also be an implicit statement of ____.

Problem

a usually undesirable situation that, according to people or interest groups, can be alleviated by government action.

Classical liberalism

in political theory, the ideological system that emphasizes individual liberty and the ownership and acquisition of private property as a means to improve overall wealth and happiness and discourage social strife. Liberalism is the political ideology on which the American political system is based.

Public interest

the assumed broader desires and needs of the public, in whose name policy is made. The ____ ____ is hard to define, but it is something to which all policy advocates appeal.

Discipline

a field of academic research or study. They approach similar problems in different ways.

Social sciences

the branch of sciences that studies the actions and behavior of people, groups, and institutions. Political science, sociology, anthropology, and economics are ___ ____.

Systems thinking

a way of thinking about natural or social phenomena as a system, in which various inputs into a system are handled, processes, and interact with each other to create a set of discernable outputs.

Input-output model

a model of the policy process that assumes a set of policy demands or inputs, which are then processed by the political system into laws, programs, and the goods and services government provides.

Black box

the part of any system model or theory that just assumes its operation without explaining how that part of the system translates inputs into outputs.

Policy Environment

The structural, social, economic, political, and other factors that influence and are influenced by policy making.

Separation of powers

the constitutional division of power between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the government.

Federalism

a system of government in which power is shared between a central or federal government and other governments, such as states or provinces.

Open public meetings

laws that mandate that most public meetings and hearings should be open to the public, in decision-making.

Administrative procedure act

a federal law that requires regulatory agencies to follow particular procedures in rule making, such as public notice or new rules, public comment periods, publication of rule making activity in the federal register and the like.

Freedom of information act

federal law that allows citizens to gain information about government programs. This act is often invoked by journalists and researcher when the government is at first unwilling to provide information; it is sometimes successful in compelling the government to provide information.

Demographers

individuals who study the composition of the population by looking at the distribution of age, race, gender, and other attributes.

Gross domestic product

the total values of all goods and services produced in a country.

Keynesian economics

theories and applications created or inspired by the economist ________, who argued that countries should accept budget deficits and government spending during recessions so as to stimulate the economy; then, when the economy is growing, tax revenues can pay the debt so incurred.

Budget deficit

the difference between what a government spends and what it receives in revenue. When a national government runs a deficit, it must often borrow to make up the difference, thereby increasing the national debt.

National debt

the total amount of money owed to a nation's creditors, such as those who hold Treasury bills savings bonds.

Transfer payments

transfers of money from the government to individual recipients, such as farm subsidies, disaster relief, and various social welfare programs.

Tax expenditures

government payments or subsidies in the form of tax deductions or credits; they are called "______" because not collecting a tax is similar to collecting it and spending it.

Unemployment rate

the statistic generated by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics that shows what proportion or a nation's, a state's, or a region's workers are out of work. It only counts those that are looking for work but are unable to find it, and not the underemployed or "discouraged workers" who drop out of the labor force.

Initiative

a process allowed in some states, by which people can propose and vote on laws via a petition and an election. Contrast with referendum.

Referendum

the referral of a proposed change in laws to voters for approval. _____ often involve state constitutional change or local decisions on taxation or the issuance of bonds to pay for large capital projects such as roads or new public buildings.

Statute law

laws made by the legislature and signed by the governor. Most such laws are codified into state codes or _______.

Case law

laws that are made as a result of judicial decisions and that influence future decisions. Contrast with statute laws.

Regulations

the rules made by government agencies and regulatory bodies to implement the meaning of the laws under which the agencies operate. At the federal level, they are codified in the Code of Federal Regulations and usually have the force of law.

Legislative intent

What the legislature meant in drafting legislation, including what the language of the law should mean. Legislative intent is often difficult to discern by courts or other actors

Evaluation

the process of investigating whether and to what extent a program has its desired effect.

Separation of powers

the constitutional division of powers between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the government

Federalism

a system of government in which power is shared between a central or federal government and other governments, such as states and provinces. Key federal systems in the world include the governments of the United States, Canada, and Germany.

Articles of Confederation

the first "constitution,' of the united states, under which the states formed a very weak federal union, with little power to tax or to exert power to regulate the economy, or to act in rebellions

Shays' Rebellion

the name given to the uprising of poor farmers in Massachusetts who challenged the civil authority in the face of growing debt, taxes, and the threat of going to debtor's prison. The uprising was one of the reasons for calling the Constitutional Convention in 1787.

Commerce Clause

article 1, section 8, clause 3, of the constitution, which gives the Congress (and by extension, the federal government) the power "to regulate ___ with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes."

Elastic clause

article 1, section 38, clause 18, of the constitution, which allows congress "to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or Officer thereof," which appears to give Congress expansive powers.

Industrial revolution

the period in Europe and the united states when industry grew rapidly due to technical innovations in production; people moved to cities and worked for wages; and a series of major social and political changes occurred, such as the growth of business power and the establishment of labor unions.

Civil War amendments

the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments to the constitution that were enacted right after the U.S. Civil War. The 13th amendment banned slavery and the 15th amendment provided the vote to all men regardless of race. The 14th amendment provided new due process of law and equal protection guarantees for citizens of each state, not just citizens of the United States, in their relationship with the national government.

Jim Crow Laws

the laws primarily enforced in the South that discriminated against African americans with regard to housing, jobs, the use of public accommodations, and other civil rights. Some laws were directly discriminatory, while others encouraged racial discrimination in private establishments, such as restaurants and hotels.

Plessy v. Ferguson

the Supreme Court case that made it constitutional to create "separate but equal" accommodations for blacks and whites; this decision was the underpinning for the racist Jim Crow laws, enforced primarily in the South

Laissez-faire economics

a system of economic regulation in which government leaves business totally, or almost totally, unfettered. This term has negative connotations, referring as it does to the freewheeling and sometimes abusive business practices of the late nineteenth century.

Lochner v. New York

Supreme Court case that held that state work hour laws were unconstitutional restraints on the right of workers to enter into labor contracts with their employers. The court relied on a concept called substantive due process. This decision made regulation of wages and hours very difficult for the federal government and the states. The decision was overturned in 1937.

Barron v. Baltimore

The decision held that people in the United States were both citizens of their states and of the nation, and that they therefore had to seek relief under their state constitutions, not the U.S. constitution, if they felt their rights have been violated.

Incorporation doctrine

The idea that the 14th Amendment's due process clause "incorporates" all the provisions of the Constitution's Bill of Rights against the states, meaning that states, meaning that states cannot violate the federal standard in these matters.

New Deal

The program of policy changes and reforms associated with President FDR's administration that intended to alleviate the Great Depression.

National security

the collection of policies, practices, and ideas that seek to protect the United States from foreign military or terrorist threats.

Great Society

the package of domestic programs advanced by President Lyndon B. Johnson to alleviate poverty, improve education, and foster civil rights during the 1960s.

Devolution

The process by which federally designed and administered programs are turned over, in whole or in part, to the states to manages they see fit, based on their needs and conditions. This is often justified by the sense that the states are more innovative and responsive than the too-large federal government.

Block grant

Government funding provided to state and local governments as a "_____," with very broad rules on how the funds are to be used; this allows the states great flexibility in using the funds, but with a loss of some control and accountability.

Filibuster

A parliamentary technique unique to the U.S. Senate, in which one or a few speakers can take the floor and dominate discussion and debate, effectively shutting down the Senate unless enough senators vote for cloture, which ends the debate (cloture requires 60 votes). This method is used to kill legislation when the side opposing the legislation lacks a legislative majority.

Brown v. Board of Education

The 1954 Supreme Court case in which the court unanimously held that laws requiring separate (and inherently unequal) schools for racial minorities was an unconstitutional violation of the Equal Protection clause of the fourteenth amendment. This case is the legal basis for school desegregation plans and orders that followed in the 1950s through today. A 1955 case under the same name required that schools desegregate with "all deliberate speed."

Institutionalism

The study of politics and policy based on the interaction of formal institutions in government, such as the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Compare with behaviorism.

Behaviorism

the approach, pioneered in the late 1930s and 1940s, that sought to study social phenomena based on the postulated and observed behavior of individuals. Behaviorism was a response to the more common approach of its day known as institutionalism.

Neo-institutionalism

the study of politics and policy that retains the focus on institutions, but which incorporates a great deal of behaviorist thinking as well.

Official actor

a participant in the policy process whose involvement is motivated or mandated by his or her official position in a government agency or office.

Unofficial actor

a participant in the process who does not have constitutionally or legally created incentives or mandates to be a part of the process, such as experts, researchers, and reporters, all of whom are important to the policy process.

Casework

the tasks undertaken by a legislator (or, more commonly, the legislator's staff) to help constituents with problems with government. Examples include writing letters of recommendation for admission to military academies, resolving immigration or passport problems, and resolving problems with federal benefits, such as Social Security.

Oversight

the process by which congress supervises the executive branch's implementation of laws and programs.

Field hearing

a legislative hearing held outside Washington, DC, often for the purpose of highlighting a local issue; capitalizing on an accident, disaster, or scandal; or providing local residents with an opportunity to make their views known to their elected officials.

C-SPAN

The _________, which is owned in common by the cable TV industry to provide video coverage of Congress and of related public affairs broadcasting. _____ offers television, and also has a radio station in Washington, DC, that runs the audio of some____ channels. Also available online.

Issue network

a term that describes the relationships between the various actors and interests in a particular policy issue. Hugh Heclo promoted this term because it describes a more open policy-making system that contains more actors and relationships than the older iron triangle concept.

Policy subsystem

another term for policy network or issue network, although the term ___ ___ implies a somewhat less open, more mutually accommodating set of relationships between members of the subsystem.

Veto

The ____ is the power the president has to reject legislation passed by Congress, which in turn may attempt to override the ____. This requires that two-thirds of each of the House and Senate members vote to override, which is relatively rare.

Pocket veto

this occurs when congress adjourns before the president is given the constitutionally mandated 10 days to sign or ____ a bill. Normally, a bill that is unsigned automatically becomes law, but if congress adjourns, and the president chooses not to sign the law, it is effectively _________.

Bureaucracy

(1) a term of derision used for any complicated, cumbersome process characterized by paperwork, unresponsiveness and slow results; (2) a system of social organization in which tasks are divided among bureaus, each of which follows particular procedures too evenhandedly administer new rules; (3) the organization that administers government through rules and procedures.

Free rider

Someone who consumes a good provided to everyone, but does not pay for it. This problem is called ____ ____, and is one rationale for government's provision of public goods.

Bureaucratic discretion

the ability of agencies in government to make decisions without the explicit direction or consent of any other branch of government. Some agencies have a great deal of ______ _____, while others have very limited discretion.

Marbury v. Madison

the case in which the supreme court claimed the power of judicial review, which is the power to declare the acts of any state or of any federal official in the legislative or executive branch unconstitutional, and therefore void.

Judicial review

the power of the courts to review the acts of the legislature and the executive branch and to strike them down if the courts find them to be unconstitutional. This power was first proclaimed by the court in Marbury v. Madison in 1803.

Mobilization

the process by which the people or groups are motivated to take action, such as through lobbying, protest, or any other form of expression in response to an issue or problem.

Interest group

a collection of people or organizations that unite to advance their desired political outcomes in government and society. There are many different ways to organize these groups by types of interest (public/private, institutional, economic, etc.)

Peak associations/peak organizations

the largest and most influential groups in a policy domain. These tend to be the groups that lead other like-minded groups in advocacy coalitions. The American Medical Association and the National Rifle Association are examples of peak organizations.

Institutional interest groups

a group of people, usually not formally constituted, whose members are part of the same institution or organization. Students at a University are an example of such a group. Contrast with a membership interest group.

Economic/private interest groups

groups formed to promote and defined the economic interests of their members (for example, industry associations).

Public interest groups

Groups formed to promote what its members believe is the broader public interest.

Lobbying

the term applied to the organized and ongoing process of persuading the legislative or executive branches to enact policies that promote an individual's or group's interest. The term has taken a negative connotation.

Venue shopping

a term used by frank Baumgartner and Bryan Jones to describe how groups choose which branch or agency of government to lobby or persuade; they will choose the venue where they believe their concerns will receive a sympathetic hearing.

Astroturf group

an interest group that appears to have been formed by concerned citizens (that is, from the "grassroots"), but is actually sponsored by a larger interest group such as a corporation or labor union.

Social movement

a broad-based effort by a large group of people to make fundamental changes in public policy and attitudes. Broad ______ _______ are important features of history, such as the civil rights movement or the women's rights movement.

Think tanks

independent research organizations, sometimes ideologically neutral but often identified with a particular political perspective.

Social media

internet-based systems of information gathering and publishing that rely on the actions on the actions of a reporters, to find and promote information. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and other systems are examples.

Muckrackers

the investigative journalists of the early 20th century, whose work exposed problems such as tainted food, dangerous working conditions, and bogus medicines. The term was coined by Theodore Roosevelt.

Policy domains

the substantive area of policy over which participants in policy making compete and compromise, such as the environmental ___ ____ or the health ___ ___.

Policy community

the group of actors-such as interest groups, government agencies, the media, and elected officials-that is actively involved in policy making in a particular domain. This group is generally thought of as being more open and dynamic than an iron triangle or sub-government.

Iron triangle

a particular style of sub-government in which there are mutually reinforcing relationships between a regulated interest, the agency charged with regulation, and the congressional subcommittee charged with policy making in that issue area. This way of characterizing policy-making relationships has largely given way to more sophisticated sub-government concepts, such as issue networks.

Logrolling

the legislative practice of trading commitments to vote for members' preferred policies.

Freedom of Information Act

the federal law that allows citizens to gain information about government programs through a specified procedure. This act Is often invoked by journalists and researchers when the government is at first unwilling to provide information; it is sometimes but not always successful in compelling the government to provide information. Of course, national security information is often unavailable.

Sub-government

the policy network or subsystem that is most involved in making policy in a particular domain.

Policy network/policy subsystem

another term for issue network.