1. The Federal Bureaucracy
An easy target….and a necessary evil

2. An Overview Any major organization is a bureaucracy
unelected policy making bodies
Bureaucracy is a neutral word
Easy to bash…Conservatives say it too large, liberal, and unaccountable
Liberals say it too slow, too status quo, doesn’t protect us enough (epa)

3. Myths and Realities #1 Americans do not like bureaucrats (myth)
#2 Bureaucracies are too intrusive and getting bigger.
Periods of growth
Post civil War
Great Depression
Great Society/Cold War

4. More Myths and Realities
#3 Most bureaucrats live in D.C. (myth)
#4 Bureaucrats are ineffective, inefficient and stuck in red tape
True, but they protect and help citizens
Red tape can benefit consumers

5. Bureaucratic Theories
Weber model-necessary but inevitable/draw power from expertise
Rational Model-necessary due to complex policy-making
Heirarchical power structure
Task specialization
Merit principle

6. More theories... Monopolistic Work expands to fill time
Acquisitive…act like corporations to expand budgets
Monopolistic…there is no alternative
Fire
Police
Schools

7. One more theory…The Garbage Can
Will grow as they try out ideas
Many ideas are trial and error
Will latch onto any idea, pull it out of the garbage can and see if it works

8. How Do You Become a Bureaucrat? Can you get fired?
Patronage
Reform
Appointment Powers
Firing a Bureaucrat
Only 200 out of 3 million workers fired for incompetence
Chart explaining how to fire a worker is 12 feet wide

9. Bureaucratic Organizations
Cabinet-15 Departments
Independent Regulatory Agencies
FDA, FCC, FEC, SEC
Independent Executive Agencies
CIA, NASA, EPA,
Government Corporations
TVA, FDIC, AMTRAK, Postal Service

10. Diagram of US Government

11. Source: Paul C. Light, The True Size of Government (Washington, D. C
Source: Paul C. Light, The True Size of Government (Washington, D.C.: Brooking Institution, 1999). Data for 1996.

12. Controlling the Bureaucracy
The President
Congress
Authorization of Funds
Appropriating Funds
Investigations and hearings
Oversight
Budget investigations

13. The Iron Triangle Cool Band Name or Obscure AP Concept?
3-way alliance among legislators in Congress, bureaucratic agencies, and interest groups
Issue Networks-slowly replacing iron triangles as policymaking becomes more complex
Often temporary and include outside forces like think tanks, the media, congressmen, and interest groups