OUTLINE GITELSON CHAPTER 14
DOMESTIC POLICY AND POLICY MAKING (3)
I) Making public policy:
-Are actions taken by GOVERNMENT to respond to problems/issues raised in political
system. (p. 388)
A) 6 stages in policymaking:
1) Issue identification:
attention called to a problem needing
government action. (p 389)
2)
Agenda setting: issue/problem
considered by policy makers. Doesn't equal
immediate action.
(p 389)
3) Policy formation:
pros/cons of issue deliberated/TALKED ABOUT. (p 390)
4) Policy
adoption: efforts to obtain government support
by bargaining/
compromise. (p
390)
5) Policy implementation: policy carried out through public programs/ actions. For
example: IRS to implement income tax law. (p
391)
6) Public
evaluation: see if goals are
achieved. Evaluate effectiveness of
programs. (p 391)
B) MODELS of Decision Making:
a) Rational: Issues carefully analyzed. All alternatives considered
and evaluated.
Needs clear objective & all info for
thorough analysis. Is difficult to apply in most cases
due to policy
objectives being either too vague or too controversial to come to a clear
conclusion. (p. 392)
b) Incremental:
more realistic. Decisions are added/subtracted little
by little from
existing policies. Mainly making changes to old policies. (p. 392)
c) Elite: public policies made from small group of influential leaders
with common
goals.
(p. 393)
d) Pluralist: policy as an outcome/influence from pressures from
different interest
groups. (p. 393)
C) Economic policies:
a) Monetary: Control money
supply to control economy. Federal
Reserve
System(Fed)
controls monetary($)
policy. Has 12 regional banks + Federal
Reserve Board. Slow economy/spending=Feds
will then increase supply
output. (p. 395)
1)
Tight: $ circulating low when demand
for its use is high. (p. 395)
2) Loose: $ high v. low demand. (p. 395)
b) Fiscal:
Control economy by managing government spending and tax rates.
Example: Raise/lower taxes. (p. 396)
c) T.
Jefferson and A. Jackson against
central control. (p. 394)
d) Before
Civil War: power in Congress moved towards agriculture
in South and
West. Railroad
companies were also helped out. (p. 394)
e) After Civil
War: power shifted to promote business
growth. Regulatory
agencies
developed. (p. 394)
f) FDR: made programs to promote recovery from Depression. Stabilized
economy. (p. 394)
g) Result of Great Depression =
government has 2 tasks:
1) Maintain
stable prices. (p. 394)
2) Maintain
orderly growth of economy. (p. 394)
II)
How economy should be managed.
A) Keynesians:
pro-government intervention to help economy.
(p. 396)
-Employment
Act: made national government responsible
for maximum
production/spending, employment.
(p. 396)
B) Monetarist:
economists against government intervention.
Says it stunts growth. (p. 398)
C) Federal deficits, budget surplus:
a) National
debt: money that government owes due to spending more than what it
had. (p. 399)
1) Surplus: revenues/receipts
exceeds spending. More money
coming in
than going out of treasury. (p. 399)
2)
Deficit: spending greater than revenue. (p.
399)
3) Infrastructure
projects: high cost projects to
support/enhance
economy. (p. 400)
4) Entitlements: programs like
Social Security that provide funds/ services
to eligible citizen(had right to benefits). (p. 400)
5) Reasons
for debt: Public demands more than willing to pay. People
holding treasury notes. Government financed
spending through
borrowing instead of through taxes to stimulate
economy. (p. 400)
6)
Belief: Increased national debt = increase inflation(higher
prices today
than
in the past). (p. 401)
7) Last decade of 20th century: annual deficit declines. (p. 402)
b) Surplus
issues continues in 2000 presidential campaign. (p. 403)
D) Economic Development POLICIES:
promoting/protecting businesses to enhance
overall economic growth. (p. 403)
a) Tariffs:
to tax goods coming in from other
countries to protect domestic US
industries. Often seen as because of Great Depression. (p. 403)
b) Free trade: International
economic policy. Ends things like tariffs to allow free
exchange of goods from
other countries. Raised little controversy. (p. 403)
c) Balance of trade: Difference
in the value of what Americans buy and sell
overseas. $
difference in import v. export. (p. 403)
1) Foreign
investment greater than US overseas export so government
proposed tariffs.
Administrations against this, wanted other countries to
decrease their
tariffs. (p. 403)
2)
3) Reagan,
Bush, Clinton: pro-free trade. (p. 403)
4) WTO(World Trade Organization) in
trade. Hoped other
countries would lower barriers against US goods.
WTO was protested against. (p. 405)
d) Tax Incentives: tax breaks. Was eliminated. Thought to be too costly/excessive
for economy. (p. 405-406)
e) Industrial policy: to
restructure economy. US abandons industries with high
labor costs that prevented successful
competition with other countries. (p. 406)
f) Supply-side economics: economic
policy. Promoting increased goods
production by helping private businesses. Says helping
businesses = increases
jobs. (p. 406)
E) Economic Regulatory Policies:
a) Economic regulatory policies:
government monitors/controls critical
industries/sectors of economy. (p. 407)
b) Interstate Commerce Act of 1887:
established the ICC(Interstate
Commerce
Commission)- the
FIRST regulatory commission. (p. 407)
c)
Regulatory Agencies:
1)
FDA: protect consumers. (p. 407)
2) FTC(Federal Trade Commission): protect safe marketplace
competition.
(p. 407)
3) FCC(Federal Communications Commission): regulates interstate
communication.
(p. 407)
4) SEC(Securities
and Exchange Commission): oversees
business
activities in securities
and investment markets. (p. 407)
5) FERC(Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission):
regulate interstate
energy production/distribution of electric
power & natural gas. (p. 407)
6) NLRB(National
Labor Relations Board): regulate workplace
relations(businesses v.
employees). (p. 407)
d)
Antitrust laws: to promote economic
competition. (p. 407)
For example:
1) Sherman Antitrust Act: business restraining trade & monopoly of
market for
product/service = is illegal. (p. 407)
2) Clayton
Antitrust Act: outlaws monopoly,
& actions that decrease
competition. (p. 407)
3)
Microsoft ruled as a monopoly. (p.
408)
e) Under
Carter and Reagan: restrictions of gas producers lowered. Economic
DEREGULATION occurred. (p. 408)
III)
Social Policies: based on -->
-
-grant in aid programs: used
for limited purpose w/specific rules. (p. 409)
-National government not actively
involved in social policy until Great Depression. (p.
409)
A) Aiding the poor:
a) Personal
Responsibility and Work
welfare reform. (p. 409)
b) OLD WELFARE SYSTEM (p. 409): 3 forms
1) General
assistance: emergency help. Cash or food. For example: food
stamps. (p. 409)
2)
Work assistance: giving jobs, or training. (p. 409)
3) Categorical
assistance: specific population targeted(For
example: kids,
families with dependent kids, disabled).
Became to costly centralized,
inflexible. Poor become too dependent. (p. 409)
c)
NEW WELFARE SYSTEM (p. 410): through 1996 welfare reform
1) More
power to states with Congress setting standards: States have
right to refuse those who don't want to work.
(p. 410)
a) TANF(Temporary
Assistance for needy Families):gives state
"block grant" to replace/change previous
federal welfare
system. Money
funds part of Aid to Families with Dependent
Children(ADDC). (p. 411)
-Goals: (1) Helps needy, (2) prevents
dependence, (3) reduce
wedlock pregnancies,
(4) encourage 2 parent families. (p. 411)
2) Capping
Cost of Welfare: open ended funding stopped. TANF
programs aren't
entitlements. Eligibility and benefits can be changed.
Changeable. (p.
412)
3) SSI(Supplementary Security Income): monthly benefits
for
blind/old/disabled.
(p. 412)
4) Food
stamps: entitlement program. Food assistance to poor.
Tied to
AFDC. Is still intact. (p. 412)
5) Medicaid:
primary program for helping poor.
Some helped were
children, elderly, disabled. (p. 413)
B) Meet Public's General Needs
a) Social
insurance programs: by SSA - cover
lost income in crisis or loss.
Funding from taxes.
For unemployment, retirement etc. those paying trust fund
are entitled to
benefits. (p. 414)
b)
Medicare: under SSA - health
insurance for elderly/disabled. (p.
415)
c) National
Commission on Social Security Reform: deals with financial crisis of
SSA trust funds.
(p. 415)
C) Social Regulations: (p. 417)
a) Social regulations program:
to protect against adulterated food & deceptive
advertising. -> Pure Food/Drug Act &
Meat Inspection Act passed. (p. 417)
b) Consumer protection policies:
made federal agencies to deal with safety/quality
of consumer products. Protect consumers. (p.
417)
c) FDA(by Food
Safety and Inspection Service of the Department of Agriculture)
regulates consumer products. (p. 417)
d) ICC(Interstate Commerce Commission): regulated passenger
ground
transportation.
(p. 417)
e) Civil Aeronautics Board: regulated air
passenger service. Board currently
dead. (p. 417)
f ) Worker
protection program: protect worker
rights, safety, health, against
discrimination.
(p. 419)
g)
Equal employment opportunity: prohibits discrimination. (p. 419)
h) OSHA: established under
Occupational Safety and Health Act. Regulates, on
site inspection. To reduce safety and health hazards. (p. 420)