consider: why do some call the bucy the “4 th branch of government?
DESCRIPTION
Consider: Why do some call the Bucy the “4 th branch of government?. The Last Word: #14 for tomorrow. The Federal Bureaucracy. Chapter 8: AP Government and Politics. Homework : Assignment 14 f0r tomorrow. Video: The Big Picture. 8. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Consider: Why do some call the Bucy the “4th branch of government?
The Last Word: #14 for tomorrow
The Federal BureaucracyChapter 8:
AP Government and Politics
Homework: •Assignment 14 f0r tomorrow
Video: The Big Picture
http://media.pearsoncmg.com/ph/hss/SSA_SHARED_MEDIA_1/polisci/presidency/OConner_Ch08_Executive_Branch_and_Federal_Bureaucracy_Seg1_v2.html
8
Quotes on Bureaucracy• There’s a new game that's sweeping the country.
It's called "Bureaucracy" Everybody stands in a circle. The first person to do anything loses.
• “The only thing that saves us from the bureaucracy is its inefficiency.”
• “In any bureaucracy, paper work increases as you spend more and more time reporting on the less and less you are doing”
• “Bureaucracy is the art of making the possible impossible”
The “Rules” of Bureaucracy• Preserve thyself. • It is easier to fix the blame than to fix the problem. • A penny saved is an oversight. • Information deteriorates upward. • The first 90% of the task takes 90% of the time; the last 10%
takes the other 90%. • Experience is what you get just after you need it. • For any given large, complex, hard-to-understand, expensive
problem, there exists at least one short, simple, easy, cheap wrong answer.
• Anything that can be changed will be, until time runs out. • To err is human; to shrug is civil service. • There’s never enough time to do it right, but there’s always
enough time to do it over.• Murphy’s Law: If anything can go wrong, it will.
– O’Toole’s Corollary – Murphy was an optimist.
What is a “bureaucracy”?• We know the second half of
the word, “cracy” means “to rule”.
• And “bureau” is a French word for “desk”…
• So together, the word bureau-cracy literally means “to rule from a desk”.
•The idea is that government workers, who often work at desks, are essentially “ruling us”…
–Why might this be controversial?
What is a “bureaucracy”?A large, complex group organized according to a
certain structure
The Federal “B’ucy”
• Divided into 3 basic parts– Executive
(Cabinet) departments
– Independent Executive Agencies
– The Executive Office of the President
Executive Office of
the President
Executive Deapartments "The Cabinet"
The Executive Branch
("The President")
- The "Right Arm" of the President
- Several agencies staffed by the
President's closest advisors
Independent Agencies - Number in the 100's
- Deal with specific areas/activities outside the scope
of the Cabinet depts.- Report directly to the
President
White House Office
Council of Economic Advisors Other Key
Executive Agencies
Justice HS
- 15 Departments headed by a Secretary
- Do most of the work of the Executive
branch- Broken down into
subunits
National Security Council
NASA
CIA
EPAFEC
SSA
State Defense
Peace Corps
The Bureaucrats• Some Bureaucratic Myths
and Realities– Americans dislike bureaucrats.
• Americans are generally satisfied with bureaucrats, though they may dislike agencies or the “bucy” as a whole (see: Congress)
– Bureaucracies are growing bigger each year.
• Not the federal bureaucracy.– Most federal bureaucrats
work in Washington, D.C.• Only about 12 percent do.
– Bureaucracies are ineffective, inefficient, and always mired in red tape.
• Research suggests not much more so than private businesses.
Roots of the FederalBureaucracy The Civil War and the Growth of
Government
From the Spoils System to the Merit System
Regulating Commerce
The World Wars and the Growth of Government
8.1
Founding to the Civil War
• Patronage used to fill positions
• Remains focused on service, as opposed to regulatory function
The Birthof the Bureaucracy•Not created by the Constitution
•Begins small, only to perform the basic functions of government, and the post office•As nation grows, Bucy grows with it.
The Civil War and the Growth of Government
Civil War changes Creation of the Department of Agriculture Creation of the Pension Office Authorization of thousands more employees
Permanent changes to the bureaucracy Used to meet demands that were
arising in the nation
8.1
From the Spoils System to the Merit System – The Era of Reform•Civil War demonstrates need for better or more organized bucy; industrialization also increases need
•Over 200,000 employees added between 1861-1901. New departments created
•Progressive Movement advocates for an end to patronage
•Pendleton Act creates merit-based system for hiring
•Merit system
•Jobs given according to ability
•Civil Service system
•Current system based on merit
Regulating Commerce Growth of big business
Unfair business practices
Additional depts Reaction to railroad shipping
rates, ICC created as first Indie Reg commission Changing focus: from
service to regulation Protect workers and small
businesses from big businesses
Sixteenth Amendment Federal income tax
8.1
The World Wars and the Growth of Government
Franklin D. Roosevelt Social programs during Depression
World War II veterans benefits G.I. Bill, housing
Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Housing
and Urban Development, Transportation
Most recent: the dept of Homeland Security
8.1
FIGURE 8.1: How many employees work in the federal executive branch? 8.1
Bureaucratic Growth
Chapter 13: WilsonAP Government and
Politics
Growth and Size of the
Bureaucracy
Consider: Is a “lifetime” bureaucrat a good thing?
Assignment 12 for Thursday
Working for “the Man”…• Who are the “’crats”?
– Directly (bucy; about 4 million) and indirectly (private companies and contractors; as many as 8-10 million more) employed or funded by the federal government
• Types of jobs:– Competitive (general exam by
OPM) vs. excepted (hired by agencies for specific jobs) service
– Name – request – specific person hired for specific job
• The buddy system…good or bad?
The Postal Service: A Model of Inefficiency?