Transcript Chapter 16

Pearson Longman
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Shea, Green, and Smith
Living Democracy, Second Edition
Chapter 16:
Public Policy in the United States
Chapter 16: Public Policy in the United States
The Politics of Public Policy
Public Policy
The action or inaction of the government on a
problem or issue of concern to the public
Who gets to determine whether something really
is a problem or issue of concern to the public?
Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second Edition
Copyright 2009 Pearson Longman
Chapter 16: Public Policy in the United States
Ideas and Values in
Public Policy
Policy Process Model
Problem
Identification
Analysis of the
Effectiveness of
the Solution
Agenda
Setting
Implementation
of Problemsolving Policies
Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second Edition
Solution
Formulation
Legitimization
of Solutions
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Chapter 16: Public Policy in the United States
Ideas and Values in Public Policy
“The production [process] model fails to capture what
I see as the essence of policy making in political
communities: the struggle over ideas.”
–Deborah Stone
Example: Debate in early 1990s about healthcare
coverage
How does this fit in the process model?
Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second Edition
Copyright 2009 Pearson Longman
Chapter 16: Public Policy in the United States
Ideas and Values in Public Policy:
Freedom
Two camps
Positive Freedom
Negative Freedom
Freedom exists to
the extent that we
can do what we wish.
Freedom exists only in
the absence of someone
or some force limiting
what we can do.
Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second Edition
Copyright 2009 Pearson Longman
Chapter 16: Public Policy in the United States
Ideas and Values in Public Policy:
Equality
If we had to divide a cake among a group of people,
how could we do so in a way that ensures equality?
Equality of
Outcomes
Count the number of
people who want the
cake and divide the
whole cake by that
number.
Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second Edition
Equality of Process
Set the cake in the
middle of the room,
put everyone an
equal distance from
it, and let everyone
try to take as much
as they want.
Copyright 2009 Pearson Longman
Chapter 16: Public Policy in the United States
Ideas and Values in Public Policy:
Equality
Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second Edition
Copyright 2009 Pearson Longman
Chapter 16: Public Policy in the United States
Pathways Profile:
Rachel Carson (1907–1964)
A leading scientist in the 1950s and 1960s and
author of Silent Spring
Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second Edition
Copyright 2009 Pearson Longman
Chapter 16: Public Policy in the United States
Types of Public Policy
How can we categorize policies?
Basic functions of government
– Distribution
– Regulation
– Redistribution
Nature of their benefits
– Tangible benefits
– Symbolic benefits
Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second Edition
Copyright 2009 Pearson Longman
Chapter 16: Public Policy in the United States
The Public Policy Process:
Identifying the Problem
Who do policymakers listen to?
Pluralist View
Elitist View
Our system of open
government allows those
without resources to have
their voices heard.
Only those with power and
money get access to the
decision makers.
Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second Edition
Copyright 2009 Pearson Longman
Chapter 16: Public Policy in the United States
Pathways of Action:
Mothers Against Drunk Driving
Begun by two mothers
whose children were
killed by drunk drivers
Successful in raising
awareness of the issue
Now a national
organization, pushing
for legislative change
Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second Edition
Copyright 2009 Pearson Longman
Chapter 16: Public Policy in the United States
The Public Policy Process:
Setting an Agenda
The ability to exclude
an item from the
agenda, for whatever
reason, is a powerful
way to control what
government does.
Georgia Senator Richard
Russell was instrumental in
keeping civil rights policy off
the nation’s agenda in the
1950s and 1960s.
Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second Edition
Copyright 2009 Pearson Longman
Chapter 16: Public Policy in the United States
The Public Policy Process:
Formulating and Legitimizing Policy
Was the terrorist attack of 9/11 a crime against
U.S. citizens and property or was it an act of war?
War
Crime
Military
solution
Legal
solution
Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second Edition
Copyright 2009 Pearson Longman
Chapter 16: Public Policy in the United States
The Public Policy Process: Implementing Policy
Policy formation:
crafting solutions to
identified problems
Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second Edition
Copyright 2009 Pearson Longman
Chapter 16: Public Policy in the United States
Pathways Past and Present:
The Welfare Debate
The Great Depression
brought a sharp rise in
childhood poverty.
Congress created Aid to
Families with Dependent
Children in response.
1996: Clinton signs
Welfare Reform Act
Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second Edition
Copyright 2009 Pearson Longman
Chapter 16: Public Policy in the United States
Alternative Views of the
Policy Process
Garbage-can Model: In this
model, problems, solutions,
actors, and other parts of
policymaking universe jumble
together. No clear linear order of
steps dictates what happens first
or next.
Policy Windows and Streams:
In this model, problems,
solutions, and political factors
are three separate streams that
flow at the same time but often
do not merge with one another.
Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second Edition
Copyright 2009 Pearson Longman
Chapter 16: Public Policy in the United States
Student Profile: Jonathan Fantini
Founder of the Collegiate Forum
Uses Facebook and MySpace to
promote political participation and
activism
Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second Edition
Copyright 2009 Pearson Longman