The Politics of Public Policy

Setting the Political Agenda Most important is determining what belongs on the political agenda. At any given time certain shared beliefs determine what is legitimate for the government to do. This legitimacy is affected by shared political values, the weight of custom and tradition, the impact of events, and changes in the way that political elites think and talk about politics. Legitimate scope of the government is growing.

Setting the Political Agenda 3 forces enlarge government activity, sometime without public demand or even when conditions are improving. 1. GROUPS- small groups of people enlarge the scope of government by their demands. i.e. corporations, unions urban minorities. 2. INSTITUTIONS- Major institutions such as the courts, bureaucracy, and Congress may add new issues to the political agenda. i.e. Courts force action – desegregation of schools; bureaucracy is a source of proposals, & Congress produce presidential candidates who focus on activism 3. MEDIA- Publicizing issues shapes the political agenda, The public becomes aware of issues through the media.

Cost, Benefits, and Policy The costs and benefits of a proposed policy provide a way to understand how an issue affects political power. (Costs can be any burden monetary or non monetary; a fee or higher tax) non monetary items such as: 1. Requiring formal reports (for example, the number of team sports for boys and for girls in a school district) 2. Restricting activities (for example, farming on land that is a protected wetland or discriminating n hiring on the basis of gender) 3. Performing functions for the government (for example, collecting income and FICA taxes)

Cost, Benefits, and Policy A benefit is any satisfaction (monetary or non monetary) that people expect to receive from this policy. It might be tangible or intangible items such as: 1. Restrictive competition (for example, ownership restrictions on television station or monopolies allowed in professional sports) 2. Accessing resources owned by the public (for example, mining rights on public land or use of patents developed by government-sponsored research) 3. Coordinating actions by government agencies (for example, amber alert procedures)

4 Kinds of Policies 1. Majoritarian Politics- policies that promise to benefit large numbers of people, at the cost of a large number of people (for example, Social Security, or military defense.) Debate occurs in ideological terms (or cost terms) instead of as a rivalry among interest groups. These issues are resolved by public votes and debate.

4 Kinds of Policies 2. Interest Group politics- A proposed policy will confer benefits on some relatively small, identifiable group and impose costs on another small, equally identifiable group (for example, bills requiring business firms to give benefits to labor unions) Interest groups will debate these with minimal interference from the wider public.

4 Kinds of Policies Client Politics Some identifiable, often small, group will benefit, but a large part of society will pay the costs( for example: regulated milk prices benefit dairy farmers but increase the cost of milk to consumers) The group that benefits will often organize and work to get them. (Cost are widely distributed, affecting many people only slightly. People are most often unaware of these costs.)

4 Kinds of Policies 4. Entrepreneurial politics A large part of society will benefit from a policy that imposes substantial costs on some small, identifiable segment of society (for example antipollution and safety requirements for automobiles, proposed as ways of improving the health and well-being of all people but at the expense of the manufacturer.) Key element is the policy entrepreneur who acts on behalf of the unorganized or indifferent majority. Entrepreneurial politics can also occur if voters and legislators in large numbers suddenly become disgruntled by the cost of some benefit that a group is receiving or if they become convinced that urgent reform is needed.

Business Regulation 4 kinds of policy will be represented. Does economic power overrule political power? Or is political power a threat to a market economy? Business keeps the economy healthy.

Business Regulation Some laws that reflect majoritarian politics in business: (lots of people involved) Antitrust legislation in the 1890’s(i.e. Sherman Anti- Trust Act & Federal Trade Commission Act) were sparked by public support  An example of Interest Group driven politics in Business is the Labor – Management conflict of the 20 th century. Labor unions sought government protection for their rights to strike and engage in other forms of collective action. Business firms opposed this greatly. Labor would win with the creation of the National Labor Relations Board in the mid 30’s. Management won victories in the 40’s and 50’s with the Taft-Hartley Act & Landrum-Griffin Act) (Here winners and losers were picked by the economic cycle. Costs and benefits involved specified groups not the public as a whole.

Business Regulation An example of Client Politics in business regulation is state licensing of occupations such as law and medicine. This is done to prevent fraud, malpractice, and improve safety. Members now charge higher prices which affect everyone. Citizens do not object cause there is no other alternative pricing and they view this as a way they are protected.

Business Regulation Entrepreneurial politics have often been evident in regulating business Pure Food and Drug Act forced meatpackers to sanitize their conditions. The 1960’s and 70’s brought a large number of consumer and environmental protection issues aimed at specfic industries and business. (i.e. Clean Air Act and the Toxic Substance Control Act) Ralph Nader is an excellent example of a policy entrepreneur, associating himself with many consumer and environmental issues.

Perceptions, Beliefs, Interests, and Values The perception of costs and benefits affects politics. (i.e. people think laws fighting pollution will be expensive for companies and not consumers, they will generally favor the law. Perception is key, and often has to be framed properly for the policies to go through and pass. (perceptions – vital to the country) Opponents will try to frame things in the client- politic role so that people will not be supportive, because they will think its only helping a small group of people or not them as a whole.

Perceptions, Beliefs, Interests, and Values Values play a vital role I policy making. Concepts of what is good for the community or a community shared value can widely vary. What is happening now or in the near future is most important to people, than what can happen in the distant future. (short term/ long term disconnect)

Perceptions, Beliefs, Interests, and Values F.Y.I (added facts) 1980’s airlines, long distance telephone companies, and trucking were deregulated. Deregulation was embraced because support was there from regulatory agencies and consumers, even though the industries opposed deregulation. These industries did not like deregulation because they feared: more competition, lower prices, and fewer profits. (This shows the weakening of client politics and the strengthening of the power ideas in policy-making. Policy making at the federal level is a complex and often confusing process that requires an understanding of the policy agenda, the costs and benefits of various issues, and the perceptions of groups involved.