1. Policy Making

2. Who is involved in Policy making? Legislative Branch Executive Branch Judicial Branch Bureaucracy Special interest groups Research groups Corporations State and local governments Citizens

3. Policy Making Process  Recognizing the problem/agenda setting  Where is the need?  Formulating the policy  Plan of action from various groups  Adopting the policy  Official action taken – legislation, executive order, court decision

4. Process cont’  Implementing the policy  Apply it to real situations, enforce, punishments  Evaluating the Policy  Good and bad  Changes  Begin process all over again

5. Types of Policies  Economic  Fiscal  Monetary  Foreign  Military  Social  Regulatory

6. Economic Policy  Laissez-Faire  To leave alone  Free market  NO GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT  Keynesian Economics (FDR)  Government manages economy  Today  Mix of both

7. Fiscal Policy  How does the government raise and spend money?  Income taxes (45%)  Progressive tax  Social Insurance Tax (1/3 of revenues collected)  Social Security and Medicare  Borrowing  Deficit Spending  Other taxes  Excise (Regressive), Estate, Customs, duties, tariffs

8. Where does money go?  $2.7 trillion federal budget  Entitlement Programs  Required by law – Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance, retirement pensions  National Defense  National debt  Interest on debt

9. Monetary Policy  The government controlling money  Inflation – too much $$ in circulation, dollar value goes down  Deflation – too little $$ in circulation  Federal Reserve – independent from government control, regulate $$ in circulation, adjusts interest rates

10. Foreign Policy  Prior 20 th century – Isolationist  WWI – WWII - Involvement  Post WWII – Containment & Cold War  United Nations

11. Foreign Policy Goals  Protect national Security  International leadership – world peace  Maintain balance of Power  Cooperating to solve international problems  Promote human rights/democratic values  Cooperative foreign trade and globalization of trade in international organizations

12. Who makes foreign policy? The President – Treaties with consent of Senate – Executive Agreements – no approval of Senate The Secretary of State – Chief coordinator of all governmental actions with other countries National Security council – Foreign/Military/economic policies that affect national security CIA – Gather analyze and transmits information

13. Military Policy  Secretary of defense – oversees Army, Navy, Air Force  President as Commander in Chief  Joint Chiefs of Staff – military advisory board; 5 members from all branches of military service

14. Social policy  “promote the general welfare”  Health Care  Do we have a national health care system? No system but ok for research and regulation!  The Public Health Service – research and gather info  FDA – regulate labeling and processing of food & drugs  Center for Disease control – reports on diseases in North America

15. Social Policy cont’  Welfare  Social Security – for elderly, poor, disabled  Medicare  Medicaid  Aid to Families with Dependent Children  Food Stamps

16. Social Welfare cont’  Education  Usually a state and local community issue  Federal government intervenes  Higher education  Project Head Start  No Child Left Behind  Schedules, standards, testing, curriculum, teacher qualifications

17. Regulatory policy  Regulating business  Monopolies and fraud  Regulating Labor  Worker safety, bargaining, equal employment opportunities  Regulating Energy and environment  Department of energy  EPA – clean water, air, and waste disposal, pesticides, radiation

18.  Review questions for unit 5!