Mixed Making Policy Flashcards
How policy can be achieved
Prohibiting certain behavior- murder
Protecting certain activities- environment
Promote activities- tax deductions for charity
Providing direct benefits- money or facilities
Issue attention cycle
Policymaking often depends on public opinion policymakers must act quickly before the public becomes bored and loses interest
Policy incrementalism
Slow step-by-step approach to make a policy to avoid unforeseen results and bitter disputes
Making policy
Agenda is set determines what is felt with
Policy formulated by executive order or congress or Supreme Court ruling implementation enforced by appropriate agency
Policy evaluation (does it work)
Policy fragmentation
Caused by many access points many pieces of legislation deal with parts of policy problems but never deal with the entire problem
Deficit spending
Funds raised by borrowing rather than spending contribute to the deficit
How fed implements monetary policy
Manipulating the reserve requirements
- which raises or lowers the amount of money banks are required to keep on hand raising the reserve shrinks the amount of money available for borrowing
How fed implements monetary policy Changing the discount rate-
raises or lowers the interest thanks paid to the federal reserve for borrowing money lowering the discount rate will lower the interest rates for consumer loans
How the Fed implements monetary policy manipulating open market operations
The federal reserve buys and sells US government bonds people buy
when the Fed sells bonds people withdraw money from banks to take advantage of the bonds high interest rate because the bank has less to loan consumer interest rates go up which lowers consumer spending & economic growth when the Fed buys bonds money flows back into the banks which increases money available for loans
Purposes of policy
Solving a social problems (such as high crime or high unemployment) countering threats (such as war) pursuing an objective (such as building a highway or finding a cure for cancer)
President’s advisors on economic policy
Council of economic advisors
National economic council
Office of management and budget
Secretary of the treasury
Fiscal v monetary
Fiscal is budget
Monetary is money supply
Authorizations committees
Decide what programs congress what’s to fund
Both houses
Appropriations committees
Decide how much money to spend
Both houses
Fiscal year
Year as reckoned for taxing or accounting purposes
Trade deficit
When imports exceed exports
General agreement on tariffs and trade (GATT)
Signed by the US evolved into the World Trade Organization WTO that reduces unfair trade
Great society
Programs under Johnson expanding gov welfare programs that eventually eliminated under Reagan
Public assistance programs
Help the needed not viewed as earned
Not required to pay into the system to get something out
COLA
Cost of living adjustment
Given to elderly on social security if inflation exceeds 3%
Main Groups that benefit from social security
Unemployed
Elderly
Poor
Disabled
Social welfare programs
Established first in the Social Security Act
Help targeted groups
Aid to families with dependent children AFDC
Largest and most controversial welfare program
Replaced by welfare reform act with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families TANF
Supplemental public assistance programs
SSI helps disabled and aged near the poverty level
Food stamps
Gov provided debit cards to use to buy food
Welfare reform act
Welfare Funded by both state and national government
New programs designed to get people off welfare and into work programs
Required adults to find work in two years
5 year lifetime limit
Illegal immigrants can’t get assistance
GDP
Gross domestic product
Total of goods and services produced in a year
Health care reform
Mainly privately provided and paid for by employers and employees
Want national health care but don’t want to pay for it
Possible taxes from alcohol or tobacco or sugary drinks
Lack of consensus
Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act
Obamacare biggest health-care legislation
National federation of independent businesses v. Sibelius
The individual mandate in 2014 the fine for not having insurance is constitutional
