Bureaucracy

Executive Branch at Work

Bureaucracy

• What is a bureaucracy? – Large, complex organization of appointed, not elected,

officials.

– “bureau” – French for small desks, • referring to the king’s traveling business men who set up small

desks in town squares

• Thus, bureaucracy = “government of small desks”

Who are bureaucrats?

• 1 out of 100 Americans work for government bureaucracy

• Examples• US Postal Service (USPS)

• Amtrak (METRO)

• Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV)

• Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

What do bureaucrats do?

• They assist the President.

– Give him advice about their specialties.• Example: AMTRAK

– Advise POTUS to get law passed saying you can’t carry a gun on a bus.

– Help carry out the rules and regulations in their fields.

• Example: Take away your bus pass.

Accountability

• Bureaucracy is controlled by the US government

• Congress– appropriates money to individual bureaucracies

• President– Appoints leaders to head of bureaucracies

• Hopefully the best person gets put in place.

• What if the POTUS wanted to hire his friend?

How did bureaucracies start?

• 1829 POTUS Andrew Jackson’s “Spoils System”– Since you won the election,

you get to pick your friends to be head of bureaucracies!

• “To the victors go the spoils”

• Lasted until 1883– Pendleton Civil Service Act

• Created in response to criticism of spoils system

• Must take test to see who is qualified for jobs.

– Called the merit system. » Police men» Fire men» Teachers

Modern Bureaucracy

• 1932-1945 – FDR’s New Deal

• increased government programs and gov’t work

– Established over 25 million government jobs over 12 years!

• Closest to socialism we ever came.

– Will Obama take us farther?

Why are bureaucracies bad?

Tobacco farmer interest groups (tobacco lobby) Department of Agriculture

House and Senate agricultural subcommittees

Congressional Committee = sympathetic to tobacco, receive campaign funds and support from tobacco interest groups; make weak laws on tobacco.

Dept. Of Agriculture executes laws sympathetic to tobacco

-COMMON INTEREST – Keep tobacco alive = keep their jobs alive

Criticism of Bureaucracy

• “Red tape” inefficiences – maze of rules, regulations, and paperwork that makes bureaucracy

overwhelming to citizens• Bureau of Motor Vehicles• Social Security• Medicare and Medicaid• Financial Aid (FAFSA)

• Unchecked growth – agencies expand unnecessarily at high costs

• Private Health Care Insurance– Price increase of 300% in last 2 decades!

• Lack of accountability – difficult in firing an incompetent bureaucrat– Difficult to close down/change a bad bureaucracy

• Private Health Care to Public Health Care