Bureaucracy

Large, complex organization of appointed, not elected, officials. “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”

Max Weber Famous early 20 th century economist, German Bureaucracy – well organized, complex machine that is a “rational” way for society to organize its business

Weber Characteristics Hierarchical authority structure – chain of command Task specialization – individuals have unique jobs, division of labor Extensive rules – clear policies for the organization to follow Clear goals – clearly defined mission

Weber Merit principle – hiring and promotion based on qualities, no jobs for favors Impersonality – performance judged on productivity Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

The ever growing bureaucracy

The Civil War changes the bureaucracy The Civil War ( ) permanently changed the nature of the federal bureaucracy. Thousands of employees were added in order to mount the war effort. After the Civil War, demands on the government continued to grow. The government needed to pay pensions to veterans and the injured from the war. Legal issues became pressing so the Justice Department was created.

The New Deal-WWII FDR faced high unemployment and weak financial markets during the Great Depression. In order to face the economic crisis, FDR created large numbers of federal agencies and many federal programs (AAA, NIRA, CCC). WWII (like the Civil War and WWI) also caused the national government to grow. Supreme Court begins to rule with admin. and Federal gov.

Modern Bureaucracy 1950’s – 1970’s – 90% of all federal employees were chosen on merit Salaries also chosen on merit

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 Commisson –Securities and Exchange Commission –National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Modern Day Bureaucracy To whom bureaucrats are responsible: to the president? To Congress? to the people? Governments exist for the public good not for profit. Government leaders are driven by reelection (and thus accountability) goals while businesspeople are out to increase their share prices on Wall Street. Businesses get money from customers, government gets it from taxpayers. The Plum Book publishes7,000 jobs in exec and leg branch according to title, agency, type of appointment and pay level

Modern Day Bureau…con’t While bur. are frustrating they come about because of citizen concerns or complaints…or people being stupid. – Coffee cups w/ warning labels that contents are hot, (Liebeck v McDonalds 1994) warning labels on football helmets – A hamburger is subject to 41,000 federal and state regulations some of them coming from court cases, yet many of them protect us from health hazards associated with eating a dead cow.

What do bureaucrats do? Discretionary action – have the power to execute laws and policies passed down by the president or congress. Implementation – develop procedures and rules for reaching the goal of a new policy Regulation – check private business activity –Munn v. Illinois (1877) – SC upheld that government had the right to regulate business rates and services

Accountability Bureaucracy is constrained and controlled by the US government The president has the authority to: appoint and remove agency heads reorganize the bureaucracy make changes in budget proposals ignore initiatives from the bureaucracy issue executive orders reduce an agency's budget

Accountability Congress has the authority to: pass legislation that alters an agency's functions abolish existing programs investigate bureaucratic activities influence presidential appointments write legislation to limit bureaucratic discretion reduce an agency's budget The judiciary has the power to: rule on whether the bureaucracy has acted within the law rule on constitutionality force respect for the rights of individuals through hearings

The Politics of Bureaucracy Conservatives believe that bureaucracy is too large and too liberal with too much power that is unaccountable. It must be downsized or curtailed…reflects belief that government is too meddlesome in our lives – Stifles economic growth, surfboard example Liberals believe that bureaucracy is too slow, too willing to keep status quo (although many conservatives would agree with this). Also believe it doesn’t protect our civil liberties enough – Protects environment

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

How it works? Everyone in the triangle has a similar interest Legislators get funding from interest groups and make laws 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.

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?

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

Controlling the Bureaucracy Patronage - Rewarding supporters with jobs “Spoils system” – created by Andrew Jackson, each President turned over the bureaucracy Pendleton Act (1883) - Created in response to criticism of patronage, more jobs will be selected based on merit Hatch Act (1939) – agency employees can’t participate in political activities (elections, campaigns, fund raisers, etc.) –Softened in recent decades, 1 st Amendment issues

Criticism of Bureaucracy “Red tape” – maze of gov rules, regulations, and paperwork that makes gov 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

Government Corporations Government corporations are businesses created by Congress to perform functions that could be performed by private business but aren't usually because they are not profitable. These corporations include the Postal Service, Amtrak and the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Independent Executive Agencies Independent executive agencies have narrower mandates than a Cabinet department. Headed by director – appointed by Pres. They generally perform a service function, not a regulatory one. Some examples include: CIA, NASA and the EPA.

Independent Regulatory Commissions IRCs exist to regulate a specific economic activity or interest such as the – National Labor Relations Board – Securities and Exchange Commission. – FCC, FAA The commissions are independent from Congress and the President. Once appointed and seated members cannot be removed by Pres. They also have staggered terms of office to ensure that no one party gets to appoint all members.

Perks of the Job… Typical government jobs Massive amounts of vacation days! Better than average pay Not taxing work (no rocket science here) Hard to fire….almost impossible!