fiorina, peterson, johnson, and mayer new american democracy, sixth edition chapter 14 the...

Fiorina, Peterson, Johnson, and MayerNew American Democracy, Sixth Edition

Chapter 14The Bureaucracy

© 2009, Pearson Education


The Role of the Bureaucracy

Laws effective only when a government agency enforces them

Agency: – Basic organizational unit of federal

government, also known as office or bureau

Department: – Organizational unit into which many agencies

of the federal government are grouped

Government corporations: – Independent organization created by Congress

to fulfill functions related to business


The Role of the Bureaucracy

Administrative Discretion

Power to interpret a legislative mandate

Congress can enact general rules, but cannot anticipate every circumstance, nor can it apply these rules to every individual case.


The Bureaucracy ProblemImpossibility of tasksDifficulty measuring performanceExpansionary tendenciesSlow to changeRed tapeTaken together these factors create what is known as the bureaucracy problem


American Bureaucracies: Particularly Political

While most are career civil servants, top positions belong to political appointeesGovernment more responsive to electionsBut, it makes civil service jobs less attractive to bright young people


Difficult Beginnings

Lack a noble heritageIn other countries, government departments evolved out of the household of the king or emperorAmerican Revolution fought against King George’s bureaucrats


Mountains of PatronagePatronage

– Jobs, contracts, or favors given to political friends and allies

Spoils System

– A system of government employment in which workers are hired on the basis of party loyalty

– Suited the needs of political parties

– Use the system to enlist campaign workers, supporters, and contributions


Advantages and Disadvantages of the Spoils SystemPositive: helped immigrants adjust to the realities of urban life in the U.S.

– Irish immigrants good at using politics to get ahead

Negative: contributed to the negative image of American bureaucracies

– View that bureaucrats are wasteful and not credible


Erosion of the Spoils SystemMugwamps

– A group of civil-service reformers organized in the 1880s who maintained that government officials should be chosen on a merit basis

Pendleton Act (1883)

– Legislation creating the Civil Service Commission

Civil Service

– A system in which government employees are chosen according to their educational qualifications, performance on examinations, and work experience

Hatch Act

– Barred federal employees from political campaigning and solicitation


Political Appointees TodayEstimated number of top-level agency appointees grew from less than 500 in 1960 to nearly 3,400 in the Bush administration

– No other industrialized democracy gives its leader as much patronage power

A new president more likely enlist many new people with innovative ideas

– Yet these appointees may not know their own organizations very well

– Newly-appointed may not be as critical of president’s plans

In-and-outers: Political appointees who come in, go out, and come back in again with each change in administration


The President and the Bureaucracy

The president “shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed”The president must execute the laws– Does so by overseeing the federal

bureaucracy – Cabinet– Appoints members to independent agencies– Acts through the OMB


The CabinetInner cabinet

– The four original departments (State, Defense, Treasury, and Justice) whose secretaries typically have the closest ties to the president

Major function of the outer cabinet is to provide interest-group access to the executive branch of government


Independent Regulatory Agencies

Independent regulatory agencies are those that have quasi-judicial regulatory responsibilitiesThey are generally headed by a several-member board or commission appointed by the president and confirmed by the SenateMost independent regulatory agencies were established by Congress in response to public pressure to protect workers and consumers from negligent or abusive business practices


Independent Regulatory Agencies

Most aggressively pursued their reform mandatesWhen public’s demand for reform fades, who is left? Interest groupsMany agencies find their most interested constituents to be members of the very community they are expected to regulate


Office of Management and BudgetOriginally the Bureau of the BudgetOMB is an agency responsible for – Development of the president’s budget, – Setting personnel policy, and – Reviewing every piece of proposed legislation that

the executive branch submits.In the past, considered a professional group of techniciansToday more political– Utilized effectively by presidents to control other

agenciesCBO checks the OMB’s power


Congress and the Bureaucracy

Agencies have many bosses in CongressSenate confirmation– Senatorial courtesy– Recess appointments

Agency reorganizationLegislative detailBudgetary control– Earmark

Legislative oversight


Iron Triangles and Issue Networks

Iron triangles– Close, stable connection among agencies,

interest groups and congressional committeesIssue networks– Loose, competitive relationships among policy

experts, interest groups, congressional committees, and government agencies


Elections and the Bureaucracy

Reformers have tried to separate politics from the bureaucracy

Agency autonomy has kept some less politically charged

Electoral pressures have also played a positive role

– May force them to balance competing interests by striking compromises


Bureaucratic Secrecy

Inside knowledge is power

Secrecy can cover mistakes

Electoral pressures have curtailed the amount of secrecy in American government

Sunshine Law

– A 1976 law requiring that federal government meetings be held in public


Bureaucratic CoercionDo bureaucracies abuse their powers?

Example: IRS

Today, agencies are held accountable by the public and by Congress

Congressional oversight

– If bureaucratic agencies make life difficult for the voting public, these agencies are more likely to be taken to task by elected officials


Agency ExpansionAgencies generally try to increase their budgets

Congress may limit such expansion due to cost

The Bush administration has forced some bureaucrats to compete with private companies for their jobs

– Has generated some protest

– Believed agencies were under-funded and understaffed and not able to compete for these reasons


Administrator Caution

Most federal agencies are more likely to err on the side of caution

Afraid of making a major mistake that gains it too much national attention


Compromised Capacity

Agencies’ effectiveness may be limited by the compromise nature of the legislation they are supposed to enforce

Example: politics of charter schools


Muddling ThroughDo not perform as badly as we think

Actual experiences of clients has been far better than their expectations

Internet has had a positive impact

B-grade overall

Must muddle through when so many interests must be balanced

Ex: Forest Service

fiorina, peterson, johnson, and mayer new american democracy, sixth edition chapter 14 the...

Documents

pearson education slide

solicitation slide

business slide

credible slide

pearson education erosion

pearson education advantages

bureaucracy problem

government agency