Download - THE POLITICAL SYSTEM OF THE UNITED STATES LECTURE 7 THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH AND INDEPENDENT AGENCIES
THE POLITICAL SYSTEM THE POLITICAL SYSTEM OF THE UNITED STATESOF THE UNITED STATES
LECTURE 7THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH AND INDEPENDENT AGENCIES
THE EXECUTIVE BRANCHTHE EXECUTIVE BRANCH
Headed by the President and CabinetA vast bureaucracyCivil servants or bureaucratsPublic administratorsThe fourth branch of government
THE EXECUTIVE BRANCHTHE EXECUTIVE BRANCH
Organized as a pyramidFramers of the Constitution: government
should be accountable to the peopleFederal bureaucracy is hard to control:FDR: It is just like a feather bed, you
punch it with your right, and you punch it with your left until you are finally exhausted, then you find the damn bed just as it was before you started punching
DIFFICULTIES OF CONTROLDIFFICULTIES OF CONTROL
CausesSizeMany masters: President: head of the
pyramid,Congress: creates the structure, oversees
the executive branch (legislative oversight: executive branch officials can be summoned to explain or defend their policies)
DIFFICULTIES OF CONTROLDIFFICULTIES OF CONTROL
Special interests:Agriculture Department: to help farmersCommerce Department: to represent the
interests of businessEach department has its own constituencyInterweaving responsibilities, conflicting
loyaltiesBureaucratic red tape: most often voiced
critique: complicated rules, difficulties of average individual while taking care of official matters
FUNCTIONS OF THE BUREAUCRACYFUNCTIONS OF THE BUREAUCRACY
Executive: carrying out laws and policies: agency notifies industry about governmental regulations, Internal Revenue Service sends out notices to taxpayers
Quasi-legislative: Setting standards to carry out a policy: USDA (Department of Agriculture): guidelines for the purity of meat
Quasi-judicial: Federal agency or department decides how a policy should be applied: how should federal monies be used by cities or businesses
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTSEXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS
At first: few in number, limited in dutiesFirst three departments: State, War,
TreasuryGradual growth of the executive branchReasons: new tasks have to be handled by
government (Dept. Of Interior: manages federal lands Dept. of Defense,Dept. Of Health, Education, and Welfare)
INDEPENDENT AGENCIESINDEPENDENT AGENCIES
The fourth branch of governmentNot under the President’s direct controlRegulatory agencies (Consumer Product
Safety Commission, Federal Communication Commission, FTC, Federal Trade Commission)
Caveat emptor: buyer beware until 1932Since than: caveat vendor: seller bewareAgencies are protected from party control
NON-REGULATORY AGENCIESNON-REGULATORY AGENCIES
Independent service agenciesPerform services for the executive branch:
Civil Service Commission: operates under merit system, allocates jobs within federal bureaucracy, General Services Administration: construction and maintenance of govt. buildings
Perform public services: U.S. Postal Service, Veterans Administration
THE INCREASING SIZE OF THE INCREASING SIZE OF GOVERNMENTGOVERNMENT
Population increase: 1789: 4 million, 2009: 300 million
Territorial increaseIndustrialization: from a rural economy to
industrial and post-industrial economyGrowth of transportation and
communicationInterconnected world-Globalization
(defense, economic issues, oil shortage)
GROWTH OF EXPECTATIONSGROWTH OF EXPECTATIONS
Increased competition resulted in a demand for more federal aid (farmers fighting against thre railroads)
Economic hardship during the Depression(federal government guarantees bank
deposits)Cities asking for help for stopping urban
decay, States asking for helpNation’s increased involvement in world
affairs: (World War Two)