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Today’s Agenda

Today’s Agenda. President Why delegate to the president? Costs of delegation Who cares about the bureaucracy? What is the bureaucracy and what functions does it perform? How powerful are bureaucrats? How do we hold them accountable Terry Moe: private vs. public firms. Exam Preparation 2.

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Today’s Agenda

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  1. Today’s Agenda • President • Why delegate to the president? • Costs of delegation • Who cares about the bureaucracy? • What is the bureaucracy and what functions does it perform? • How powerful are bureaucrats? • How do we hold them accountable • Terry Moe: private vs. public firms

  2. Exam Preparation 2 What do Congressional committees and subcommittees represent, according to lecture? • Congress’ attempt at efficiency • Division of labor, like in a restaurant • Congress’ attempt to overcome the framers’ constraints of majority power • All of the above • None of these, dummy

  3. The Roots of the Office of President of the United States • American colonists distrusted the King so much so that the Articles of Confederation largely and deliberately neglected the need for an executive. • With the failure of the Articles, the Framers accepted the need for an executive officer that would be strong enough to govern, but not so strong that he could abuse power.

  4. The Philadelphia Convention Qualifications for Office • The Constitution requires that the President must be: • A natural born citizen • 35 years old • 14 years a U.S. resident • Why This Weird Number?

  5. The Constitutional Powers of the President • Unlike Article I, Article II is quite short and details few powers for the President. • The president received certain enumerated powers in the Constitution. • The first line of Article II may be the most important grant of power to the president. It states "the executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America."

  6. Campaigns and the President • Ideological campaigning is sometimes overrated. • Non-ideological campaigning. • But: primaries! Ugh!

  7. How to Balance Power? • How do you keep a President strong and weak at the same time? • Commander in Chief • Fighting a war by committee is useless • More power in times of crisis

  8. How to Balance Power? • How do you keep a President strong and weak at the same time? • Commander in Chief • Fighting a war by committee is useless • More power in times of crisis • BUT...that’s a lot of POWER for 1 person • Only Congress declares “War?” • Controls the purse strings • Can pass laws limiting the ability to engage in conflict

  9. Legislative Power Chief-of-State Pardoning Power Treaty-making Power Chief Diplomat Chief Executive Veto Power Commander -in-Chief Appointment Power

  10. Congress and the President • Especially since the 1930s, the President has seemed to be more powerful than Congress. • Presidents often are responsible for leadership in setting the policy agenda for Congress.

  11. Reasons for changes • Information advantages • You don’t know what I know • Expertise advantages • I am an expert, and you are useless • War or conflict • Economic downturns • Party Leader (I’m a Winner!) • Treaties (ex: Louisiana Purchase)

  12. The Evolution of Presidential Power Cold War Ends World War II World War I The Civil War Cold War T.Roosevelt Trust busing, Nat’l parks, imperialism FDR: The Great Depression and New Deal Progressive reform era/ W. Wilson

  13. A “democratic” Institution? • YES • Only national office elected by all of the people “directly” (more about this later) • Most of the time, the President’s actions are consistent with public opinion • Less beholden to special interests than individual members of Congress.

  14. A “democratic” Institution? • NO • Can lead (and hence manipulate) public opinion • Secrecy in national security matters is often a cause of concern • Assumes “extraordinary power” in crisis situations

  15. How to make someone look bad • Get them to veto poor kids’ health care (even if the veto might be reasonable) http://rackjite.com/archives/709-Jon-Stewart-Does-Bush-Veto-of-S-SHIP.html

  16. Reasons for changes • Information advantages • You don’t know what I know • Expertise advantages • I am an expert, and you are dumb • War or conflict • Economic downturns • Party Leader (I’m a Winner!) • Treaties (ex: Louisiana Purchase)

  17. Why Delegate to the President? • Think about the difference between the slow and “broken” legislative process versus the rapidity of one office • Quick decisions are necessary at times • To get passage of sticky legislation • Employment Discrimination (EEOC) • To pass the Buck • Environmental Regulation

  18. What are the Costs of Delegation? • Too much discretion = too much power? • Monitoring costs • Adverse selection • Uncertainty of future presidents • Hard to renege • Veto power of president • Same party support in Congress

  19. A “democratic” Institution? • YES • Only national office elected by all of the people “directly” (more about this later) • Most of the time, the President’s actions are consistent with public opinion • Less beholden to special interests than individual members of Congress.

  20. A “democratic” Institution? • NO • Can lead (and thus manipulate) public opinion • Secrecy in national security matters is often a cause of concern • Assumes “extraordinary power” in crisis situations

  21. Federal Executive Departments • Department of Agriculture (USDA) • Department of Commerce (DOC) • Department of Defense (DOD) • Department of Education (ED) • Department of Energy (DOE) • Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) • Department of Homeland Security (DHS) • Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) • Department of Justice (DOJ) • Department of Labor (DOL) • Department of State (DOS) • Department of the Interior (DOI) • Department of the Treasury • Department of Transportation (DOT) • Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

  22. Can the Bureaucracy be Controlled? • Dilemma (isn’t there always?) • Bureaucrats make government more efficient • They are given discretion to make decisions in the interest of the public • They are under control of elected officials

  23. Can the Bureaucracy be Controlled? • Dilemma (isn’t there always?) • Bureaucrats make government more efficient • They are given discretion to make decisions in the interest of the public • They are under control of elected officials • BUT!!!!!!! • How do we hold them accountable? • Can the bureaucracy “represent?” • Is this democratic?

  24. Who is in Charge of the Federal Bureaucracy? • Congress • President • Courts • Interests Groups • The Public (clients) • All of these and none of these?

  25. Is the bureaucracy accountable, and if so to whom? Congress has the authority to: • pass legislation that alters an agency's functions • abolish existing programs • investigate bureaucratic activities • influence presidential appointments • establish the budget • write legislation to limit bureaucratic discretion

  26. Is the bureaucracy accountable, and if so to whom? The President has the authority to: • appoint and remove agency heads • reorganize the bureaucracy • make changes in budget proposals • ignore initiatives from the bureaucracy • issue executive orders • reduce an agency's budget

  27. Is the bureaucracy accountable, and if so to whom? The Judiciary has the power to: • rule on whether the bureaucracy has acted within the law • rule on constitutionality • force respect for the rights of individuals in bureaucratic and administrative hearings

  28. Accountability to Citizens • Increased opportunities to petition • Publicly funded interveners/ombudspersons • Monitoring programs • Advisory committees (w/public members) • Sunshine provisions (announced & open meetings) • Freedom of information laws

  29. The Power of the Agent • Informing their masters • Using information strategically • Speaking out against their masters • Going public • Implementing policy as they see fit • Using their discretion to adjust policy • Negotiating with their masters • Going on Strike

  30. The Power of the Agent

  31. The Power of the Agent • Informing their masters • Using information strategically • Speaking out against their masters • Going public • Implementing policy as they see fit • Using their discretion to adjust policy • Negotiating with their masters • Going on Strike • Selecting their masters (Whaaaaa?!)

  32. The Power of the Agent

  33. What to do with the Public Library? • We all pay for it with our tax money • But we disagree about • What books to carry? • How many staff? • Hours? • Programs for kids?

  34. Some Problems with Markets • Monopolies or diseconomies of scale • Imperfect information • Negative externalities • Public (collective) goods not provided

  35. Terry Moe: Public firms versus Private firms 4 Important differences • Public authority • Temporary property rights in a democracy

  36. Terry Moe: Public firms versus Private firms 4 Important differences • Public authority • Temporary property rights in a democracy • Political firms • Everyone is involved in setting the rules

  37. Terry Moe: Public firms versus Private firms 4 Important differences • Public authority • Temporary property rights in a democracy • Political firms • Everyone is involved in setting the rules • Political uncertainty • The future is uncertain (act like it!)

  38. Terry Moe: Public firms versus Private firms 4 Important differences • Public authority • Temporary property rights in a democracy • Political firms • Everyone is involved in setting the rules • Political uncertainty • The future is uncertain (act like it!) • Political compromise • Policy created in part by people who want it to fail

  39. Public Firm Private Firm Temporary Owners Owner Workers Bureaucrats

  40. Public Firm Private Firm Fixed Legal Env. Temporary Owners Owner Workers Bureaucrats

  41. Public Firm Private Firm Changing Legal Env. Fixed Legal Env. Temporary Owners Owner Workers Bureaucrats

  42. Terry Moe: Public firms versus Private firms 4 Important differences • Public authority • Temporary property rights in a democracy • Political firms • Everyone is involved in setting the rules

  43. Public Firm Private Firm Changing Legal Env. Fixed Legal Env. Congress Owner Pres. Courts Workers Bureaucrats

  44. Terry Moe: Public firms versus Private firms 4 Important differences • Public authority • Temporary property rights in a democracy • Political firms • Everyone is involved in setting the rules • Political uncertainty • The future is uncertain (act like it!)

  45. Public Firm Private Firm Changing Legal Env. Fixed Legal Env. Congress Owner Pres. Courts Workers Bureaucrats

  46. Terry Moe: Public firms versus Private firms 4 Important differences • Public authority • Temporary property rights in a democracy • Political firms • Everyone is involved in setting the rules • Political uncertainty • The future is uncertain (act like it!) • Political compromise • Policy created in part by people who want it to fail

  47. Public Firm Private Firm Changing Legal Env. Fixed Legal Env. Congress Owner Pres. Courts Workers Bureaucrats

  48. Public Firm Private Firm Changing Legal Env. Fixed Legal Env. Congress Owner Pres. Courts Workers Bureaucrats

  49. Exam Preparation 3 Can a Presidential veto be used as a weapon against the President? • No, the veto is only the President’s weapon • Yes, if the President is forced to override “popular” legislation • Yes, sometimes voters can formally veto the President • Yes, the Supreme Court can formally veto a President’s veto

  50. Clint Eastwood

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