Bureaucracy

Line at the DMV

Bureaucracy

• Large, complex organization of appointed, not elected, officials with authority divided among several managers.

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

• Bureaucracy = “government of small desks”

American Bureaucracy

• In the U.S., three aspects of our government and traditions give the bureaucracy a distinctive character– Political authority over the bureaucracy is not

in one set of hands– Most agencies share their functions with

related agencies in state and local gov.– Adversary culture of America

American Bureaucracy

• Merit principle – hiring and promotion based on qualities, no jobs for favors

• Impersonality – performance judged on productivity

• Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

Growth of the Bureaucracy

• 1st Congress Madison introduced a bill to create a Dept. of State

• People to this office will be nominated by the Prez and approved by Senate, but can only be fired by the Prez alone

• Why?

Growth of the Bureaucracy

• Between 1818 and 1861 the # of Fed. Employees increased 8 fold because of the growth of the post office

Service to Regulation

• Why did the bureaucratic agencies at first only perform service roles?

• What two events cause the bureaucracy to play a more active role in dealing with social and economic problems?

Recruitment and Retention

• Competitive Service– These individuals are appointed only after they pass

and exam administered by the Office of Personal Management

– This system has become decentralized over the past few years. Why?

• Excepted Service– These are individuals appointed by agencies on the

basis of qualifications approved by the OPM– Ex. FBI, CIA, Postal Worker

Pendleton Act

• 1883- transferred basis of government jobs from patronage to merit

• What is the Buddy System?

Firing a Bureaucrat

• An executive must go through elaborate steps to fire a bureaucrat

• 1/10 of 1% of bureaucrats are fired• What are some strategies for bypassing

this?

Whistler Blower Protection Act

• This created the Office of Special Council to investigate complaints from bureaucrats that were punished for reporting waste, fraud, or abuse in their agencies

• Purpose is to protect bureaucrats who tell on their bosses

Who are bureaucrats?

• 1 out of 100 Americans work for government bureaucracy

• The federal civil service looks much like a cross-section of American society with minorities underrepresented at the executive level

• Examples– US Postal Service– Corporation for Public Broadcasting– Interstate Commerce Commission– Federal Trade Commission

What do bureaucrats do?

• Discretionary action – have the power to execute laws and policies passed down by the president or congress.

• Implementation – develop procedures and rules for reaching the goal of a new policy

• Regulation – check private business activity– Munn v. Illinois (1877) – SC upheld that

government had the right to regulate business rates and services

Accountability

• Bureaucracy is constrained and controlled by the US government

• Congress– appropriates money, authorizes the spending

of money, oversees agency activity– The real power over an agencies budget lies

with the Appropriations Committee• President

– Job appointments, executive orders, budget control, reorganize agencies

Constraints

• The biggest constraint on bureaucratic action is that Congress rarely gives any job to a single agency

• Freedom of Information Act and Administrative Procedure Act– Examples of gov.-wide constraints on the

bureaucracy• Constraints = blocking action is easier

than taking action

Iron Triangles

CONGRESS

BUREAUCRACYINTEREST GROUPS

Iron Triangle - three-way alliance among legislators, bureaucrats, and interest groups to make or preserve policies that benefit their respective interests

Iron Triangles

How it works?

• Everyone in the triangle has a similar interest• Legislators get funding from interest groups

and make laws reality with the help of the bureaucracy

• Interest groups provide valued information to bureaucrats and money to legislators

• Bureau chiefs implement legislator policy and interest group goals.

Why are they “iron”?

• Strong – bond can’t be broken by President or Congress

• Referred to as “sub governments,” all the real decisions are made among these 3 groups

• Might maintain interests that might not be publicly popular… like what?

Example – Why is tobacco not illegal?

Tobacco farmer interest groups (tobacco lobby)

Department of Agriculture

House and Senate agricultural subcommittees

House and Senate representatives, sympathetic to tobacco, receive campaign funds and support from tobacco by interest groups, and the representatives make sure that tobacco farmers are defended through legislation. DOA agency executes the legislation while relying on the Congressional budget. The interest groups provide the DOA with valuable information to effectively execute laws.

Issue Network

• More complicated connection exists• Iron triangle too simple – there are IGs from

opposite sides of an issue who compete• Issue Network – complex group (includes media)

that debates an issue and slows policy-making• Policy-making is not as smooth with competing

demands from IGs• President can appoint an agency head who steers

policy, but can never smoothly control policy

Criticism of Bureaucracy

• “Red tape” – maze of gov rules, regulations, and paperwork that makes gov overwhelming to citizens

• Conflict – agencies that often work toward opposite goals

• Duplication – agencies appear to do the same thing• Imperialism– agencies expand unnecessarily at

high costs• Waste – spending more than necessary• Lack of accountability – difficult in firing an

incompetent bureaucrat