Nia Kiara England
March 21, 2011
Chapters 14 & 15 Bureaucracy and Budget
Chapter 14 The Politics of Taxing and Spending
Key Terms and Ideas
Progressive tax- any tax in which the burden falls more heavily on the rich than the poor. State
and federal income taxes are both progressive taxes.
Regressive tax -any tax in which the burden falls more heavily on the poor than the rich, at least
as a percentage income. These taxes are flat rates for everyone. An example is sales tax.
Entitlement- Benefits that must be provided to all eligible people who seek them. The most
important entitlements for Americans are Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid payments.
Individual income tax- the most important revenue for the federal government.
Social insurance taxes-second major source of federal funding.
Corporate income tax- the third major source of federal revenue.
Excise tax-taxes levied on the sale of goods like alcohol and services like local telephone
service.
Mandatory spending- government revenue is committed by law to be spent in specified ways.
Discretionary spending-the aspects of the budget debated by congress.
Incrementalism is the belief that the best predictor of this years budget is last years budget “plus
a little more”.
2010 Federal Budget
Nia Kiara England
March 21, 2011
Chapters 14 & 15 Bureaucracy and Budget
Chapter 15: The Federal Bureaucracy
Key terms and Ideas
Patronage jobs are given for political reasons and not merit (471). This is how government jobs
were assigned 100 years ago.
Pendleton Civil Service Act (1883)- this act created the civil service. This helped ensure that
hiring was based on merit and not patronage. Civil Service is a system of hiring and promotion
based on the merit principle (472). Merit principle is “the idea that hiring should be based on
entrance exams and promotion ratings to produce administration by people with talent and skill”
(472).
The Hatch Act is a federal law preventing government employees from active participation in
partisan politics.
The office of personal management (OPM)- “is in charge of hiring for most federal agencies”
(472). The director is appointed by the president and confirmed by the senate.
The Senior Executive Service (SES) are at the very top of the civil service system and there are
9000 members. They are elite government managers.
Max Weber believed bureaucracy to be a rational way to conduct business. According to Weber
bureaucracy is “a hierarchical authority structure that uses task specialization, operates on the
merit principle, and behaves with impersonality”(473).
The acquisitive bureaucracy is the belief that bureaucracies are live private corporations in
seeking goals. Private corporations seek to maximize profits, the government seeks to maximize
their budgets.
Independent Regulatory agencies are “government agencies responsible for some sector of the
economy, making and enforcing rules to protect public interest”. (ex. Federal Reserves Board)
Government corporations- provide services that could be provided by the private sector,
typically charge for their services, and their rates are often cheaper than rates that would be
charged by people from the private sector (478). (ex. includes Amtrak)
Independent Executive Agencies are not cabinet departments, not regulatory commissions, and
not government corporations, they are the rest of the government. An example includes NASA
(479).
Policy Implementation is “the stage of policymaking between the establishment of a policy and
the consequences of the policy for whom it affects. This involves the translating of goals and
objectives of a policy into an going program” (480).
Nia Kiara England
March 21, 2011
Chapters 14 & 15 Bureaucracy and Budget
Administrative routines include many standard operating procedures; they are used by
bureaucrats to bring uniformity to complex organizations (483).
Administrative discretion is the authority of administrative to select among various responses
to a given problem (483).
Regulation “is the use of governmental authority to control or change some practice in the
private sector” (487). Regulation raises prices because if the producer is burdened down with
expensive regulations, the cost will be passed onto the consumer. American products are also
more expensive than international products do the burdensome costs associated with regulation.
Command and Control policy is the “system in which government tells businesses how to
reach certain goals, checks that these commands are followed, and punishes the offenders”. (491)
Deregulation is “the lifting of restrictions on business, industry, and professional activities for
which government rules had been established and that bureaucracies had been created to
administer”(492).
Executive orders are regulations originating from the executive branch.
Iron triangles are a mutually dependent relationship between bureaucratic agencies, interest
groups, and congressional committees or subcommittees. Iron triangles dominate some areas of
domestic policymaking.
Nia Kiara England
March 21, 2011
Chapters 14 & 15 Bureaucracy and Budget
Multiple Choice Questions
1. An iron triangle is
a) a name for an agreement between the secretaries of state, defense and treasury
b) the union of the army, navy, and air force
c) the phenomenon that never occurs in American government
d) another name for the three branches of government
e) a policy-making group made of a committee of Congress, an interest group,
and a bureaucratic agency
2. The largest portion of the federal government covers
a) National defense
b) Social welfare programs
c) Interest on the national debt
d) Entitlement programs
e) Tax collection
3. How are Cabinet members chosen?
a) By the president and are confirmed by the senate.
b) By the president and are confirmed by the house
c) By the House and are confirmed by the senate
d) By the Supreme Court
e) By the president alone-they need no confirmation
4. The term “budget deficit” refers to the
a) Annual increase in federal spending on the military
b) Amount of interest on the national debt
c) Difference between the initial budget proposals made by the president and
congress
d) Period after the fiscal year ends during which the government operates without
an official budget
e) Amount the government spends in excess of its revenues
5. The most prevalent model of budgetary decision-making in practice is
a) Uncontrollable budgeting
b) Incrementalism
c) Allowance budgeting
d) Rational party bargaining
e) Deficit increase
Nia Kiara England
March 21, 2011
Chapters 14 & 15 Bureaucracy and Budget
6. The plum book lists
a) all civil service jobs graded rank
b) appeals filed with the Merit Systems Protection Board
c) top federal jobs available by presidential appointment
d) job openings of the office of personal management
e) future candidates for political office
7. The government often finds it difficult to make substantive changes to entitlement programs
for which of the following reasons?
a) Most such programs were established by constitutional amendment.
b) These programs are extremely popular among their numerous beneficiaries.
c) Such programs are vital to national defense.
d) Most such programs primarily benefit the wealthy, a powerful politic bloc.
e) These programs’ budgets are determined by nonelected bureaucrats, not by
congress.
8. The rationale for the Civil Service rests on the
a) general Schedule rating system for federal appointments
b) need for job placements when a new party comes to power
c) desire to create non-partisan government on the basis of merit
d) goal of centralizing government employment at the federal level
e) desire for equal opportunities for women and people of color
9. The biggest uncontrollable expenditure in the federal government is
a) the social security system
b) interest on national debt
c)veterans aid
d) government retirement benefits
e) medicare
10.
According to the sociologist Max Weber, a bureaucracy depends on which of the
following
a) hierarchical authority structure
b) impersonality
c) extensive rules
d) task generalization
e) A, B, and C
FRQ
1a. Define “entitlement” and give two examples.
b. Define “budget deficit”.
c. Explain how entitlements can play a role in creating a budget deficit.
2a. What is the presidential cabinet?
b. How does one become a cabinet member?
Nia Kiara England
March 21, 2011
Chapters 14 & 15 Bureaucracy and Budget
Answer Key
1. (E) An iron triangle by definition is a mutually dependent relationship between bureaucratic agencies,
interest groups, and congressional committees or subcommittees. Iron triangles dominate some areas of
domestic policymaking.
2. (D) Entitlement programs include Social Security, veterans’ pensions, and Medicare. Social security
alone accounts for 21 percent of the federal budget. National defense accounts for just under 20 percent of
the federal budget.
3. (A) The Constitution doesn’t make any mention of the cabinet, but all presidents have had them, and as
high ranking members of the executive branch, they must be chosen by the president and confirmed by
the senate.
4. (E) A budget deficit by definition is a condition that arises when federal expenditures exceed revenues;
the government spends more money than it takes in.
5. (B) Incrementalism is the belief that the best predictor of this years budget is last years budget “plus a
little more”. The United States government uses the previous year’s budget and makes slight changes to
create a budget for the current year.
6. The plum book contains a list of top federal jobs available for direct presidential appointment. They
usually need to be approved by the Senate.
7. (B) Many people such as the elderly rely on these programs to cover medical and living expenses.
Recipients of entitlements form a large and powerful voting bloc. It is considered political suicide to even
suggest substantial reductions in entitlement benefits.
8. (C) The purpose of civil service exams is to establish a system of hiring that is fair and based on merit;
this should result in a non-partisan and intelligent government.
9
(A) Social security is the biggest uncontrollable expenditure because it is an expensive entitlement
that affects a large group of people.
10. (E) According to Weber bureaucracy is “a hierarchical authority structure that uses task
specialization, operates on the merit principle, and behaves with impersonality”(473).
FRQ
1a. Benefits that must be provided to all eligible people who seek them
1b. A condition that arises when federal expenditures exceed revenues; the government spends more
money than it takes in.
1c. Entitlements can play a role in creating a budget deficit because the federal government is required to
give money to all who qualify regardless of whether or not the federal government can afford it. An
example of this is social security, many more people are eligible for social security than the federal
government can comfortably afford to give the benefits too.
2a. The presidential cabinet is a group of presidential advisers.
2b. One may become a cabinet member after being selected by the president and confirmed by
the senate.