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)