Bureaucracy

Chapter 15 The Bureaucracy Line at the DMV

Bureaucracy Large, complex organization of appointed, non elected, officials that help run our government and help executive branch executive the laws “Bureau” – French for small desks, referring to the king’s traveling business men who set up small desks in town squares Bureaucracy = “government of small desks”

Continued… Bureaucracy: Also called civil service… Well organized hierarchical Complex institution with many parts Millions! of workers Non elected Well paid and usually pretty secure employment

Merit System – hiring and promotion based on competition, skill level, and or exam, no jobs for favors or connections Limits corruption Political Patronage - those in power giving civil service jobs to its supporters, friends, and or relatives as a reward for loyalty and hard work Increases corruption

Who are bureaucrats? 1 out of 100 Americans work for government bureaucracy Examples US Postal Service Amtrak Corporation for Public Broadcasting Interstate Commerce Commission Federal Trade Commission Securities and Exchange Commission National Aeronautics and Space Administration

The Bureaucracy continued… The power of a bureaucracy must be measured by its authority, not by the number of employees or size of its budget How bureaucrats use their authority can be explained by their recruitment and job security, their political views and by the nature of the tasks their agencies perform…

Powers of Bureaucrats #1 Discretionary Authority – The extend to which appointed bureaucrats can choose courses of action and executive policies not spelled out in the original law. Discretion = freedom / space Behind the scenes power and influence on our lives

Powers of Bureaucrats #2 Rule Making: guidelines issued by government agencies, which provide specific details about how a policy will be implemented

Examples of Bureaucratic Agencies • U.S. Department of Agriculture ae • U.S. Department of Defense • U.S. Department of Homeland Security • U.S. Department of Transportation • U.S. Department of State • U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs • U.S. Department of Education

Regular Tasks Regulation – check private business activity to enforce rule following Fines: Issue fines for groups or individuals that are not following regulations Testify before Congress: Legislative branch can hold the Bureaucracy accountable by holding their own investigations Example of Congressional Oversight

Accountability… Bureaucracy is constrained and controlled by the US government Congress appropriates money, authorizes the spending of money, oversees agency activity President Job appointments, executive orders, budget control, reorganize agencies

Criticism of Bureaucracy “Red tape” – maze of government rules, regulations, and paperwork that makes government overwhelming to citizens Conflict – agencies that often work toward opposite goals Duplication – agencies appear to do the same thing Unchecked growth – agencies expand unnecessarily at high costs Waste – spending more than necessary Lack of accountability – difficult in firing an incompetent bureaucrat

Important Question… How do Congress, Interest Groups, and the Bureaucracy interact to formulate policy positions? What are the consequences of such a relationship?

Iron Triangles CONGRESS INTEREST GROUPS BUREAUCRACY Iron Triangle – long term three-way relationship among legislators, bureaucrats, and interest groups to make or preserve policies that benefit all their respective interests

Iron Triangles

How it works? Everyone in the triangle has a similar interest Legislators get funding from interest groups and make laws a reality with the help of the bureaucracy Interest groups provide valued information to bureaucrats and money to legislators Bureau chiefs implement legislator policy and interest group goals.

List of Interest Groups http://www.twyman-whitney.com/americancitizen/links/lobbies.htm

Why are they “iron”? Strong – bond can’t be broken by President or Congress Referred to as “sub governments,” all the real decisions are made among these 3 groups Might maintain interests that might not be publicly popular… like what?

Example – Why is tobacco not illegal? House and Senate agricultural subcommittees Tobacco farmer interest groups (tobacco lobby) Department of Agriculture House and Senate representatives, sympathetic to tobacco, receive campaign funds and support from tobacco by interest groups, and the representatives make sure that tobacco farmers are defended through legislation. DOA agency executes the legislation while relying on the Congressional budget. The interest groups provide the DOA with valuable information to effectively execute laws. -COMMON INTEREST – Keep tobacco alive = keep their jobs alive

Other Iron Triangle Example

Daily Show Example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVPMeoGGhcg

Issue Network More complicated connection exists Iron triangle too simple – there are IGs from opposite sides of an issue who compete Issue Network – complex group (includes media) that debates an issue and slows policy-making Policy-making is not as smooth with competing demands from IGs President can appoint an agency head who steers policy, but can never smoothly control policy

Stop Hating on them! Does work surprisingly well in many instances Look at the mail service or the fact that we made it to the moon - But it could be better and more efficient perhaps

The Federal Bureaucracy Today Tribune Media Services, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed by permission. One barrier to improving presidential control of the federal bureaucracy is that even the White House has become a large bureaucracy. p. 411 Copyright © 2011 Cengage