DO NOW… What is bureaucracy?

“Bureaucracy is the art of making the possible impossible” Welcome! “Bureaucracy is the art of making the possible impossible”  Javier Pascual Salcedo

BUREAUCRACY The U.S. government provides a wide range of services that we take for granted The bureaucracy involves thousands of government agencies and institutions that implement and administer laws and programs established by Congress and the executive branch

Conservative viewpoint Bureaucracies are too liberal unnecessary meddling in our lives too much power too large too unaccountable

Liberal viewpoint too slow too unimaginative to solve America’s problems too zealous a guardian of the status quo

The Bureaucrats Americans dislike bureaucracy, but like individual bureaucrats Bureaucracies grow bigger each year, number of employees expanding (but not federal employees) Most bureaucrats do not work in D.C. Bureaucracies are ineffective Bureaucracies are dehumanizing

Patronage Patronage jobs are given in return for political support Remember political machines?

Pendleton Civil Service Act 1883 Created civil service so that hiring and promotion would be based on merit

Civil service System of hiring and promoting based on the merit principle Desire to create nonpartisan government service

Merit principle Hiring based on entrance exams and promotion rating Based on talent and skill

Hatch Act Federal law prohibiting government employees from active participation in partisan politics [while on duty]

Regulation The use of governmental authority to control or change some practice in the private sector Regulations pervade the daily lives of people and institutions

Deregulation The lifting of restrictions on business, industry, and professional activities for which government rules had been established and that bureaucracies had been created to administer

Four General Types of Agencies Cabinet Departments Independent Regulatory Commissions Independent Executive Agencies Government Corporations

Cabinet Departments 15 departments headed by secretaries (except DOJ is headed by the Attorney General) major administrative units that have responsibility for conducting a broad area of government operations cabinet departments account for about 60% of the federal workforce

Independent regulatory agencies agencies created by Congress to exist outside of the major departments to regulate a specific economic activity or interest all are headed by boards with 5 to 7 members boards are appointed by the president with Senate approval terms are staggered for bipartisan panels they cannot be easily removed by the president Supreme Court has affirmed their independent status Federal Reserve Board – regulates supply of money and interest rates Federal Communications Commission – licenses radio and tv stations, cable and the internet

Independent executive agency government not accounted for by the cabinet departments perform a service or administrative function (as opposed to a regulatory function) tied to the President – serve as do the cabinet secretaries Examples: NASA National Science Foundation

Government Corporations Corporations are formed when the government chooses to engage in activities that are primarily commercial in nature produce revenue require greater flexibility Examples: U.S. Postal Service, Amtrak, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation They charge for their services

Iron Triangles policy-making triangles are “iron” because they are virtually impenetrable to outsiders and are largely autonomous Example: Department of Veterans’ Affairs, the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars Policy decisions made within these iron triangles often foster the interests of a clientele group and have little to do with the advancement of national policy goals

Red Tape complex rules and procedures that must be followed to get something done any large organization must have some way of ensuring that one part of the organization does not operate out of step with another so red tape results from a need to satisfy legal and political requirements and to ensure that rules are obeyed and proper forms are filled out

Waste spending more than is necessarily to buy some product or service the biggest criticism people have of bureaucracy businesses must eliminate waste to maximize profits in government agencies, only weak incentives for keeping costs down no reward for saving the agency money if you do not spend your funds, it goes back to the Treasury

Discussion What is an iron triangle? Why is it politically significant? What are your thoughts about bureaucracy?