Government in America

What is Government?
Definition: Government is the institutions and processes through which public policies are made for society. Governments typically maintain a national defense, provide services, collect taxes, and preserve order.

What is Politics?
Definition:
Politics is the process by which we select our governmental leaders and what policies they produce. Politics produce policies (authoritative decisions) about public issues.

Another way to think about it:

Who gets what, when and how.

The Policymaking System

The process by which policies are created and evolve over time

Policymaking System
People:
Policies begin with the people. The government attempts to meet peoples
Interests
Environmental Conservation (National Parks) Rights of Young Adults (Voting Rights, Drinking Age)

Problems
Practical Issues (Pot-holes in the street, speed limits) Broader Issues (Education public schools, federal aid)

Concerns
Safety (Gun control, national defense) Economics (Taxes, national debt)

Policymaking System
Linkage Institutions:
Definition: Linkage institutions are the political channels through which peoples concerns become political issues on the policy agenda.
Political Parties Elections News & Entertainment Media Interest Groups

Policymaking System
Policy Agenda:
Definition: A policy agenda develops when issues attract the serious attention of public officials. Political issues arise when people disagree about a problem and how to fix it. Depending on the political atmosphere at the time, some issues will be considered, and others will not. A governments policy agenda changes regularly as important issues rise and fade
Integrated schools and interracial marriage were on 1960s policy agendas Affordable health care and gay marriage are on 2010s policy agendas Taxes are on almost all policy agendas

Policymaking System
Policy Institutions:
Definition: Policymaking institutions are the branches of government charged with taking action on political issues.
Legislature (Congress) Executive (President) Courts (Federal and State) Bureaucracies (Federal and State)

How Policies Impact People

Public Policy: a choice that government makes in
response to a political issue.
TABLE 1.1 Types of Public Policies
TYPE
Congressional action
Presidential action Court decision

DEFINITION
Law passed by Congress
Decision by president Opinion by Supreme Court or other court Legislative enactment of taxes and expenditures Agency adoption of regulation

EXAMPLE
No Child Left Behind Act
U.S. troops invade Iraq Supreme Court ruling that individuals have a constitutional right to own a gun. The federal budget resolution Food and Drug Administrations approval of a new drug

Budgetary choices

Regulation

Evaluation of Policies
Impacts of Policies (two questions to ask):
Does it solve the problem? Does it create more problems?

Depending on the answer, policy impacts carry the political system back to its point of origin: the concerns of people.