Chapter 8

Question 1

Bureaucracies have:

Answer 1

Hierarchy embedded in a clear chain of command.
Specialization of tasks and jobs.
Explicit Rules – Standard operating procedures.
Merit based hiring and promotion.

Bureaucrats are expected to apply neutral competence to complex and important tasks.

Question 2

neutral competence

Answer 2

The policies created are nonpartisan (insulated from politics)
The bureaucracy is staffed by experts in the given field

Question 3

Scope

Answer 3

Limited discussion of primarily high-level officers and judges.

Question 4

Placement

Answer 4

Article II (Executive)

Question 5

Key Points:

Answer 5

• Bureaucracy is explicitly housed within the Executive branch (Administrator in Chief).
• Appointment of key officers by the President with the “advice and consent” of the Senate.
• Institutional design left to Congress.

Question 6

The Spoils System

Answer 6

• Patronage
• Andrew Jackson – “to the victor go the spoils”.
• Hence, every party transition led to a massive change of civil service jobs to supporters of the winning party.

Question 7

Patronage

Answer 7

the practice of rewarding political supporters by appointing them to a job once an election is won.

Question 8

Dangers of the Spoils System

Answer 8

Incompetence & Neglect on the Job
Corruption & Bribery within Agencies
Lack of Institutional Memory (Mass Layoffs after Transitions)

Question 9

Guiteau

Answer 9

a deranged office seeker who thought he had been instrumental in Garfield’s campaign.

Wanted to be an ambassador (Paris), but was ignored.

Shot Garfield July 2nd 1881.

Question 10

After the Spoils System

Answer 10

• Civil Service Reform –

- Expansion with New Deal and Great Society

Question 11

Civil Service Reform

Answer 11

• After Garfield Assassination
• Pendleton Act 1883
• Began small, but slowly extended civil service throughout the ranks of government bureaucracies.

Question 12

Expansion with New Deal and Great Society

Answer 12

• These programs expanded the need for and scope of -public bureaucracies.
• Increase in the number and size of Agencies
• These institutions remain with us today.

Question 13

Pendleton Act 1883

Answer 13

members of the civil service would be hired and fired on the basis of merit rather than politics.

Question 14

What Do Agencies Do?

Answer 14

Provide Expertise to Lawmakers
-Reports, Testimony, & Expert Services

Implement Laws Passed by Congress
-Example: Social Security Administration

Regulate Industry

• EPA on Water Pollution
• Creation & Enforcement of Rules

Question 15

Examples of Agency Rules

Answer 15

• EPA and regulations of greenhouse gas emissions.
• US Fish and Wildlife designation of protected species.
• FDA and access to new/old forms of birth control.
• Labor Department and exemptions from or specifications for workplace regulations (coal, oil, food service).

Question 16

Types of Bureaucracies

Answer 16

• Departments
• Independent agencies
• Independent regulatory boards and Commissions
• Government corporations

Question 17

Departments

Answer 17

15 Cabinet positions (Defense, Interior, Veterans Affairs).

Question 18

Independent agencies

Answer 18

structured like departments, but with narrower mandates. These agencies vary in their independence from the President, but are independent from the Cabinet positions.

Question 19

Independent regulatory boards and Commissions

Answer 19

these agencies regulate specific industries (SEC, NLRB)

Question 20

Government corporations

Answer 20

public enterprises that are run for profit but are propped up with government funds (Freddie Mac, Fanny Mae, U.S. Postal Service).

Question 21

Why Delegate?

Answer 21

• -Efficiency
• There exists far too much policy for either Congress or the President to handle on their own.
• Many subjects require technical expertise beyond elected officials’ abilities.
• There are some issues that should be taken out of the hands of partisans for reasons of stability or professionalism.
• -Credible Commitment Mechanisms
• Governments often delegate to a bureaucracy because it needs to be able to “credibly commit” to an action that it otherwise would not want to take.
• Credible commitments are means to guarantee outcomes regardless of a bargainer’s (a government’s) wishes.

Question 22

Credible Commitment

Answer 22

A mechanism by which one can secure themselves from the dangers of their own incentive structures via costly actions or signals.

Question 23

Cheap Talk

Answer 23

An action which provides a signal of intent or knowledge but without any kind guarantee that it represents a true belief or planned course of action.

Question 24

Credible Commitment and the Fed

Answer 24

The Federal Reserve (Fed) is independent because of the dangers inherent to partisan control of money supply.

Recall the problems that states had under the Articles of Confederation.

Other example: The difficulties of borrowing money as a king.

Question 25

Staffing Bureaucracies

Answer 25

Appointments

The constitutional division of appointing power (nomination/confirmation) is an invitation to struggle.

Personnel is Policy!
Policy disagreements will spill over into nominations battles.

Question 26

Appointments

Answer 26

The highest officials within an agency are generally appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate.

Question 27

Basic Appointment Structure

Answer 27

Nominations
Confirmations
Non-Confirmation
Recess Appointments

Question 28

Nominations

Answer 28

Presidents nominate by formally providing their choices to the Senate.

Question 29

Confirmations

Answer 29

The Senate must confirm the nominee by vote (executive proceedings).

Question 30

Non-Confirmation

Answer 30

A nominee can lose a vote, be withdrawn, or be “returned to the President” at the end of a Congress if no action is taken.

Question 31

Recess Appointments

Answer 31

When Congress is out of session, presidents are able to place temporary officers into positions without a vote.