Chapter 15 The policy making process (put cost benefit chart on board.)

I. Setting the agenda A. Most important decision affecting policy making is deciding what belongs on the political agenda (quote p 436) 1. Shared beliefs determine what is legitimate 2. Legitimacy affected by a) Shared political values. b) Weight of custom and tradition c) Changes in political elites B. The legitimate scope of government action 1. ALWAYS GETS LARGER (quote p. 436 2)(437) a) Changes in publics attitude b) Influence of events 2. May be enlarged without public demand even when conditions improving 3. Groups: a motivating force in adding new issues a) May be organized (corporations) or disorganized (urban minorities) b) May react to a sense of relative deprivation-peoples feeling that they are worse off than they expected to be- (Riots of the 60s) c) May produce an expansion of govt agenda d) May change values and beliefs of others Ex- white response to urban riots 4. Institutions a 2nd force in adding new issues a) Major institutions: courts, bureaucracy, Senate, media b) courts 1) make decisions that force actions by other branches: desegregation, abortion c) bureaucracy 1) source of political innovation: size and expertise EPA, FCC, FDA, SEC 2) Thinks up problems to solve 3) allies with congressmen and staff d) Senate 1) more activists than ever e) Media 1)Help place issues on political agenda 2) publicize those issues raised by others such as safety stds.

C. Costs and benefits of proposed policies. 1. Cost: any burden monetary or non-monetary. (same as benefit) 4. politics is a process of settling disputes about who benefits and who ought to benefit. (needs to seem deserving) 5. people prefer programs that provide benefits at low cost Perceived Costs Distributed Concentrated

Majoritarian Distributed Entrepreneurial Politics Politics

Perceived Benefits Client Politics Interest Group Concentrated Politics

III. Majoritarian: C) Debate on ideological terms usually- Military, Social Sec, Current health care debate.anti-trust legis. IV. Interest group- debate usually carried out by interest groups- (labor v. business) taft hartley, Wagner act , – NLRB, OSHA, (victory for labor) V. Client- Usually people unaware of costs. (pork barrel projects, licensing of attorneys, barbers, etc. prevents fraud, promotes safety, adds cost! Examples of Client - Pork Barrel spending- Federal spending that goes to a specific district, or area Subsidy-Federal Dollars that go to a specific industry or good. A) Agency Capture likely- When industry gains control of a federal agency that is supposed to regulate it. Ex-If the media industry were able to plant insiders and gain control of the FCC. B) Little opposition- b/c people think regs. Protect them, costs not obvious. Regulation of milk industry- Tobacco subsidies- not deserving went away. Sugar quotas. Client politics on the decline!!!! Media exposure bad- recipients never seem deserving. Regulations can also hurt client (FCC) lobbied to create FCC originally, now fines hurt companies. VI. Entrepreneurial- Environment bills usually given as an example (superfund, endangered species act. Clean air act, clean water act. Etc. FDA created in 1906 Policy Entrepreneurs- activist that helps a cause- Ralf Nader. Consumer protection advocate- brought issues to forefront. –often helped by scandal. –debate becomes moralistic and extreme -again agency CAPTURE a risk.

Deregulation important. Going toward deregulation but recent economic issues will most likely reverse this trend.