Public Policy—Domestic and State
Typically, policymaking is a zero-sum game; some win, others lose. There is usually no even trade when it comes to political decisions.
Domestic Policy and State Policy: “all of the laws, government planning, and government actions that affect each individual’s daily life….” These will usually address areas of public importance, viz. healthcare, poverty, crime, education, environmental problems, public welfare, public safety, public morality….
--Large scope for national domestic policy
--Some policies handled only by the national government
--Other policies handled concurrently by the national and the state governments
--State Police Powers (regulation of public safety, health, welfare, and morality) guaranteed by the US Constitution in the 10th Amendment.
The Policymaking Process
I. Identify the Problem(s) to be Addressed—we must have an idea of what the problems are before they can be resolved
a. Sources for identifying public problems/issues
i. Newspapers and Television
ii. Constituent communications (letters, phone calls, emails, public meetings, etc.)
iii. National crises that arise (attacks, natural disasters, rioting, etc.)
iv. Lobbyists for special interests and for government bureaus
v. Political parties
II. Five Steps of Policymaking
a.
i. Make the legislature aware that legislative action is necessary
1. helps to have the executive on board
2. politicians from one party may well try to steal the agenda from the other party
ii. Begin to circulate various proposals and build support for them among key legislators and interest groups
b. Policy Formulation
i. Discussion of proposals among the politicians, bureaucrats and the public (via media, speeches, legislative committee hearings, etc.)
ii. Legislative hearings are held
iii. Executive opinions are expressed
iv. Some proposals may become future or current campaign issues
c. Policy Adoption
i. Choosing among the proposals (in the legislature)
1. legislative debate
2. legislative votes
ii. Adopted policy, in the form of a bill, goes to the executive for signature (or veto)
d. Policy Implementation
i. Bureaucrats are the chief policy implementers (at least on the administrative side of things)
ii. Courts help to implement policies through interpretation of the laws that establish those policies (e.g., who’s entitled to welfare benefits, tax exemptions, legal sentences, etc.)
iii. Police serve to implement criminal law on a most basic level
iv. Citizens serve to help implement policies through obedience and acceptance of them—strong sense of government legitimacy
e. Policy Evaluation
i. Study what is the effectiveness of a policy after awhile—what has actually happened?
ii. New policymaking efforts occur to tweak the system and keep it in line with modern needs
III. Models of Policymaking
a. Institutional Model
i. Concerns itself with the traditional organization of government, i.e., the basic institutions, departments, etc.
ii. Based upon the formal constitutional design
iii. Government legitimates certain policies—these become legal
1. policies are extended to cover everyone, universally
2. government monopoly on coercive force to compel obedience and punish the disobedient
b. Elite-Mass Model
i. Revolves around a “policymaking elite” (set apart by income, intelligence or education, and status) and a “passive” general populace
1. Trickle-down policymaking—from the elite to the masses
2. Haves and have nots
3. Common values among the elites that set them apart from the general populace
ii. Public policy reflects elite values => preservation of the status quo (this is a conservative approach to policymaking, i.e., it does not deal with change very well, indeed, it shuns change)
1. Tends toward the oligarchic or aristocratic, though republics may be founded on this model as well
2. the elite are not typical of the general populace (i.e., they will not serve as delegates of the masses, but perhaps as trustees)
3. For the masses to move up to elite positions (over a long time period) they must adopt elite values to maintain continuity and stability
4. Near universal agreement among elites on basic social system and preservation values—e.g., private property, limited government, individual liberty
a. Limitations in power (weaken the government to guarantee these values, though giving it a large scope of action)
b. Limitations in scope (narrow the range of government actions in order to preserve these values, but give government a significant degree of power to execute those actions)
5. Incremental changes only—no revolutionary ideas
6. Apathetic masses will not likely influence more active elites
iii. Note the similarities of candidates from both major political parties
1. policy alternatives within acceptable range of elite values are only ones considered
2. more agreement among the elites than disagreement
a. disagreement will revolve around differences over implementation, not areas of general agreement
c. Group Model
i. “system of forces and pressures acting on and reacting to one another”
1. focus is usually upon the legislature (through lobbing, for example)
2. agencies may be captured by the groups they are intended to regulate (clash between the benefits to the regulated and the benefits to the citizens/general public)
ii. Individuals must participate in groups/group interests if they are to have any impact politically
iii. Political system accomplishes the following:
1. establish the rules of the game
2. arranges compromises and balances interests
3. enacts compromises in public policy
4. enforces compromises
iv. Numbers game will determine degree of influence (population, wealth, organizational strength, access, internal cohesion, group leadership, etc.)
v. Political parties are not single groups, they are umbrella organizations
vi. Overlapping group membership keeps groups in check
d. Systems Model
i. Input/Output/Feedback
ii. Cyclical policymaking process
iii. PP is “response of the political system to forces brought to bear on it from the outside environment.” Entrance of forces into political system through
1. Demands—brought in response to real/perceived environmental conditions
2. Support—obedience to laws, voting, taxpaying, etc.
iv. Macro-level Policies—concerning the whole system (e.g., roles of government institutions, relationships between gov. and business, etc.)
v. Subsystem Policies—particular policy areas (e.g., aviation, subsidies, railroads, shipping, etc.)
vi. Micro-Level Policies—policy for specific people, companies, communities (bringing home the bacon)
e. Streams and Windows Model
i. Three Streams must converge to form a policy window
1. Problem Stream
a. Defines problem
b. Focuses attention on the problem
c. Calls for new approach to the problem
d. Categorizes the problem
2. Political Stream
a. Formation of the government agenda
i. National mood is assessed
ii. Organized interest groups get involved
iii. Public administration, various bureaus compete for share of the policymaking effort
b. Eventual consensus among groups involved (e.g., legislature, parties, media, interest groups, etc.)—bandwagon effect (everyone jumps on board in order not to be excluded from the policy resolution)
3. Policy Stream
a. Consideration of alternatives
b. Making of decisions: which course will we take from among the various proposals? The following will have a role in the decisionmaking process
i. Academics
ii. Researchers
iii. Consultants
iv. Public administrators
v. Legislative staffers
vi. Interest groups
c. Use of trial balloons to gauge public willingness to go along with a proposal
d. Rational and persuasive argument, not bargaining, leads to consensus.
e. “Tilt occurs when a plausible solution begins to emerge”