Chapter 8 Flashcards
Bureaucracies have:
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.
neutral competence
The policies created are nonpartisan (insulated from politics)
The bureaucracy is staffed by experts in the given field
Scope
Limited discussion of primarily high-level officers and judges.
Placement
Article II (Executive)
Key Points:
- 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.
The Spoils System
- 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.
Patronage
the practice of rewarding political supporters by appointing them to a job once an election is won.
Dangers of the Spoils System
Incompetence & Neglect on the Job
Corruption & Bribery within Agencies
Lack of Institutional Memory (Mass Layoffs after Transitions)
Guiteau
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.
After the Spoils System
- Civil Service Reform –
- Expansion with New Deal and Great Society
Civil Service Reform
- After Garfield Assassination
- Pendleton Act 1883
- Began small, but slowly extended civil service throughout the ranks of government bureaucracies.
Expansion with New Deal and Great Society
- 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.
Pendleton Act 1883
members of the civil service would be hired and fired on the basis of merit rather than politics.
What Do Agencies Do?
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
Examples of Agency Rules
- 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).
Types of Bureaucracies
- Departments
- Independent agencies
- Independent regulatory boards and Commissions
- Government corporations
Departments
15 Cabinet positions (Defense, Interior, Veterans Affairs).
Independent agencies
structured like departments, but with narrower mandates. These agencies vary in their independence from the President, but are independent from the Cabinet positions.
Independent regulatory boards and Commissions
these agencies regulate specific industries (SEC, NLRB)
Government corporations
public enterprises that are run for profit but are propped up with government funds (Freddie Mac, Fanny Mae, U.S. Postal Service).
Why Delegate?
- -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.
Credible Commitment
A mechanism by which one can secure themselves from the dangers of their own incentive structures via costly actions or signals.
Cheap Talk
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.
Credible Commitment and the Fed
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.
Staffing Bureaucracies
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.
Appointments
The highest officials within an agency are generally appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate.
Basic Appointment Structure
Nominations
Confirmations
Non-Confirmation
Recess Appointments
Nominations
Presidents nominate by formally providing their choices to the Senate.
Confirmations
The Senate must confirm the nominee by vote (executive proceedings).
Non-Confirmation
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.
Recess Appointments
When Congress is out of session, presidents are able to place temporary officers into positions without a vote.
